Feds Approve $6.5 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Georgia Power Nucler Project
Georgia Power’s nuclear expansion project at Plant Vogtle in Augusta is getting a big financial boost. The U.S. Department of Energy has formally signed off on $6.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for the project.
The loan money was tentatively approved back in 2010, but federal officials and Georgia Power and its partners spent years negotiating the terms.
“There’s no question that this is an important piece of the financing,” said Stan Wise, a commissioner with the Georgia Public Service Commission, which along with federal officials is monitoring the now $15 billion project. “I had become pessimistic that it wasn’t going to get done but I’m very pleased it did.”
The two reactors under construction are the first new reactors to be built from scratch in the U.S. in a generation.
The project is about half way done, but it’s about 18 months behind schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget. It’s being partly financed by Georgia Power customers.
Wise says the federal loan will help.
“The ratepayers of this state are going to save approximately $200 million in financing costs because of these federal loan guarantees,” said Wise.
Several groups have criticized the use of federal funds for the project. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said it was an example of “corporate welfare” and has called on Congress to publish the financial terms of the loan guarantee.
The first new reactor is currently scheduled to go online in 2017.
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