Georgia Power signs contract for two new nuclear units
Nuclear power may be making a comeback in the U.S., as Westinghouse Electric Co., a unit of Japanese Toshiba Corp., said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Southern Co.’s Georgia Power unit to build the first nuclear power plants in the U.S. since 1978.
Tellingly, that was the year before the Three Mile Island accident, which is largely credited with souring the U.S. public on nuclear power.
The deal underlines the growing demand for new power sources because of the skyrocketing price of traditional carbon-based fuels, such as coal and oil.
“Agreements like the one announced with Georgia Power will also ensure that the United States will have the power it will need to support long-term economic growth,” said Westinghouse Chief Executive Steve Tritch in a statement. The company added that the deal “further proves” a “nuclear renaissance has moved beyond the planning stage.”
Under the deal, Westinghouse, in partnership with the Shaw Group Inc., would build two AP1000 nuclear power plants near Waynesboro, Ga. The town bills itself as “The Bird Dog Capital of the World” on its Website. Already the site of two nuclear reactors, it had a population of 5,800 in the year 2000.
Westinghouse previously announced it is in talks to build four nuclear reactors in the U.S. The other two would be built in South Carolina.