South Carolina companies scrap $14 billion nuclear project

[corbe]

South Carolina companies scrap $14 billion nuclear project

 By Devin Henry - 07/31/17 01:52 PM EDT  



Two companies developing a nuclear plant in South Carolina announced Monday they would end construction of the $14 billion project.

South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) and state-run Santee Cooper both said Monday they would suspend their plan to build two nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer power plant northwest of Columbia.

The companies cited cost overruns and construction delays, as well as the bankruptcy of lead contractor Westinghouse.

The Santee Cooper board of directors voted unanimously on Monday morning to pull out of the project. In a statement, the company said the decision would save customers $7 billion in construction fees, which have already cost $4.7 billion.

SCE&G later announce that it, too, would cease work on the power plant.

<..snip..>

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/344628-south-carolina-companies-scrap-14-billion-nuclear-project

[thackney]

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/07/31/s-c-utility-votes-to-stop-building-16b-v-c-summer.html

...Estimates to complete the expansion have ballooned past $16 billion. ...

...The two utilities contracted in 2008 with Westinghouse Electric Corp., a subsidiary of Toshiba, to design and build two 1,117-megawatt nuclear reactors at the existing 960-megawatt V.C. Summer plant. Delays and cost overruns pushed what had once been expected to be a $9 billion project to $14 billion in costs by October 2015, when Westinghouse agreed to a fixed-price construction contract.

At that time Toshiba agreed to guarantee the utilities against potential cost overruns in the future.

In March, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection, after reporting that it was losing more than $6.1 billion on the Summer project in Jenkinsville S.C. and a similar project at Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle in Georgia.

The Toshiba settlement amount was one of the final pieces that SCE&G and Santee Cooper needed to make the call on whether to complete the project, scale it back to a single unit, or scrap it and ask customers to pay for the more than $9 billion already sunk into the project....

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Too bad.  South Carolina with it Savannah nuclear facilities should have been one of the top places to support continued nuclear expansion.

Bodes ill for projects elsewhere.

[Fishrrman]

Fearless prediction:

With the exception of perhaps one or two more under construction (and perhaps even including them), not a single new nuclear power plant will come on line within the lifespan of anyone reading this post.

No one wants the costs nor the risks any more.
Nothing's going to change that so long as alternative sources of energy -- gas and more importantly, coal -- remain available.

[Joe Wooten]

I work for Westinghouse. We were told today they were mothballing unit 3 and continuing work on unit 2.

[Bigun]

I work for Westinghouse. We were told today they were mothballing unit 3 and continuing work on unit 2.

That's too bad.  What kind of reactors are they?

[Joe Wooten]

That's too bad.  What kind of reactors are they?

AP1000 Pressurized Water reactors.

When I got in this morning and opened the emails, there was an email confirming both new units at VC Summer are being abandoned.

Dayum! I know a lot of folks down there who are gonna be laid off now.

[Bigun]

AP1000 Pressurized Water reactors.

When I got in this morning and opened the emails, there was an email confirming both new units at VC Summer are being abandoned.

Dayum! I know a lot of folks down there who are gonna be laid off now.

Dayum is right!   

I guess the pressurized water reactors are the only ones you can get permits to build even though there is much more modern designs available these days.

[Joe Wooten]

Dayum is right!   

I guess the pressurized water reactors are the only ones you can get permits to build even though there is much more modern designs available these days.

And even though I do not work at VC Summer, I was laid off today.

Dayum!

[thackney]

And even though I do not work at VC Summer, I was laid off today.

Dayum!

Really sorry to hear that Joe; God be with you.

[thackney]

Westinghouse Plans 7 Percent Workforce Trim, Reacts To South Carolina Project Cessation
http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2017/08/01/westinghouse-plans-7-percent-workforce-trim_2c00_-reacts-to-south-carolina-project-cessation-080101#.WYC74Yjys2w

Westinghouse Electric Company Chief Executive Officer Jose Emeterio Gutiérrez.said the company was “extremely disappointed” at the decision by Santee Cooper and the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company to back away from its commitments to the V.C. Summer power plant expansion project, which was to deploy two AP1000 reactors designed by Westinghouse.

“While we respect Santee Cooper’s decision, we are extremely disappointed,” said José Emeterio Gutierrez, Westinghouse president and chief executive officer. “The South Carolina economy is sure to feel the negative impact of losing over five thousand high-paying, long-term jobs, as well as not having available the reliable, clean, safe and affordable energy these units would provide. Also, at a time when other nuclear plants are being retired, the U.S. energy sector is sure to feel the stunting impact of walking away from these two nuclear units.”

Westinghouse released the statements on Tuesday while announcing that the company had reached a bankruptcy milestone by submitting its five year business plan to the company's debtor-in-possession financing lenders and unsecured creditors committee on July 27.  In its five year plan, the company said it would reduce its global workforce by 7 percent as part of its restructuring efforts.

Various news sources, including Reuters, reported in July that Westinghouse would likely be sold to a U.S.-based company by the end of 2018....

[Bigun]

And even though I do not work at VC Summer, I was laid off today.

Dayum!

Very sorry to hear that Joe but I know you will land on your feet.

[Joe Wooten]

Very sorry to hear that Joe but I know you will land on your feet.

Thanks.

I'm planning on it. I could see it coming and activated my escape hatch 3 weeks ago.

[Bigun]

Thanks.

I'm planning on it. I could see it coming and activated my escape hatch 3 weeks ago.

Good man!   

[Joe Wooten]

Dayum is right!   

I guess the pressurized water reactors are the only ones you can get permits to build even though there is much more modern designs available these days.

PWR's, Boiling Water Reactors (BWR), and CANDU types are the ONLY reactors for power production available for construction as of now. The rest are in the research or prototype stage.

[Joe Wooten]

Westinghouse Plans 7 Percent Workforce Trim, Reacts To South Carolina Project Cessation
http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2017/08/01/westinghouse-plans-7-percent-workforce-trim_2c00_-reacts-to-south-carolina-project-cessation-080101#.WYC74Yjys2w

Westinghouse Electric Company Chief Executive Officer Jose Emeterio Gutiérrez.said the company was “extremely disappointed” at the decision by Santee Cooper and the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company to back away from its commitments to the V.C. Summer power plant expansion project, which was to deploy two AP1000 reactors designed by Westinghouse.

“While we respect Santee Cooper’s decision, we are extremely disappointed,” said José Emeterio Gutierrez, Westinghouse president and chief executive officer. “The South Carolina economy is sure to feel the negative impact of losing over five thousand high-paying, long-term jobs, as well as not having available the reliable, clean, safe and affordable energy these units would provide. Also, at a time when other nuclear plants are being retired, the U.S. energy sector is sure to feel the stunting impact of walking away from these two nuclear units.”

Westinghouse released the statements on Tuesday while announcing that the company had reached a bankruptcy milestone by submitting its five year business plan to the company's debtor-in-possession financing lenders and unsecured creditors committee on July 27.  In its five year plan, the company said it would reduce its global workforce by 7 percent as part of its restructuring efforts.

Various news sources, including Reuters, reported in July that Westinghouse would likely be sold to a U.S.-based company by the end of 2018....

Jose is one of the senior executives who were running things along with Danny Roderick and was in on all the bad decisions made that lead to the company bankruptcy of Westinghouse.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

And even though I do not work at VC Summer, I was laid off today.

Dayum!

Trust it doesn't take long to get a new job. Have learned over the years that good people are hard to find, so make yourself findable.

[Joe Wooten]

Trust it doesn't take long to get a new job. Have learned over the years that good people are hard to find, so make yourself findable.

I started pinging my contacts a month ago, and sent out my resume to several places three weeks ago. I won't be out long.

[Bigun]

I started pinging my contacts a month ago, and sent out my resume to several places three weeks ago. I won't be out long.

 

[thackney]

I started pinging my contacts a month ago, and sent out my resume to several places three weeks ago. I won't be out long.

Update your LinkedIn profile with more detail.  You may be surprised by what the contacts this brings in.

[Joe Wooten]

Update your LinkedIn profile with more detail.  You may be surprised by what the contacts this brings in.

Yeah, I gotta get that done too.....