Why Nuclear Power is Making a Comeback
Why Nuclear Power is Making a Comeback
America is building nuclear power again, but it’s been a long time coming.
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Producer - Adam Savage
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Content
0.06 -> foreign
1.38 -> it's a site that hasn't been seen in the
3.6 -> US for over 30 years a new nuclear
6.6 -> reactor nearing completion two of them
8.94 -> in fact yes the country that has more of
12.36 -> these than anywhere else has now finally
14.7 -> started building them again and it
16.5 -> couldn't come at a better time with
18.539 -> fossil fuels falling out of favor
20.34 -> nuclear faces a possible comeback but
23.82 -> this monster of a construction project
25.32 -> has been a long time in the making costs
28.439 -> have spiraled sharply and mistakes have
30.84 -> been made Fogel is well behind its
33.719 -> originally intended schedule double the
36 -> original budget people didn't know how
37.559 -> to pour concrete correctly the design
39.719 -> wasn't finished enough techniques had to
42.48 -> be invented and then changed on the job
44.34 -> and yet it could still Mark the
46.44 -> beginning of an American nuclear Revival
48.719 -> that not too long ago seemed impossible
52.14 -> foreign
57.44 -> energy you'll probably imagine wind
59.76 -> turbines solar panels or maybe a
62.1 -> hydroelectric Dam but what about this
64.44 -> that's right nuclear power it's not
67.86 -> everyone's idea of clean the errors of
70.86 -> the past and concerns about waste have
73.02 -> made many of us skeptical about these
74.82 -> places
75.78 -> and the people operating them now if you
78.54 -> excuse me my fondue is just about
84.9 -> but this is no joke when the wind isn't
87.54 -> blowing and the sun isn't shining we
89.759 -> need a reliable source of emission free
91.92 -> energy to fall back on one that isn't
94.38 -> years away from reality call is now
98.04 -> extremely expensive natural gas is now
101.04 -> extremely expensive wind and solar do
103.619 -> not replace the functions of coal and
105.659 -> natural gas which is on-demand power
107.72 -> marks a nuclear engineer and managing
110.64 -> director of radiant energy funds which
113.22 -> advises governments and companies or
115.2 -> nuclear energy even gas being on demand
118.259 -> has been brought into question with the
121.079 -> Texas blackouts of 2021 when we just
124.439 -> didn't have the ability to deliver
126.299 -> enough natural gas in very cold
128.819 -> conditions to keep the whole grid going
131.039 -> now we've been building nuclear reactors
133.68 -> since the 50s and it all started in the
136.5 -> US it was here that electricity was
139.5 -> generated with a nuclear reactor for the
141.42 -> first time in a period when Atomic power
144.12 -> was still mostly known for weapons the
147.3 -> peaceful atom is here and now to serve
149.7 -> what President Eisenhower has termed the
151.8 -> needs rather than the fears of mankind
154.319 -> today the U.S has by far the largest
157.319 -> nuclear capacity of any country in the
159.9 -> world and yet it hasn't built any new
162.42 -> nuclear plants for over 30 years there
165.72 -> are almost 100 reactors in operation
167.58 -> across the country but they were all
169.62 -> made decades ago a second reactor at
172.68 -> Watts Bar in Tennessee was completed in
174.959 -> 2015 but construction started on that
177.3 -> back in the 1970s so it's not seen as
180.18 -> completely new now there are reasons for
183 -> America's nuclear Decline and they apply
185.519 -> pretty much everywhere in short new
188.22 -> reactors have become extremely expensive
190.44 -> and they take a long time to complete
192.42 -> which isn't helpful when experts say we
194.64 -> could do with more of them these days
196.56 -> there are also a lot more regulatory
198.18 -> hurdles and safety procedures to follow
200.459 -> that's largely down to what happened at
202.98 -> Three Mile Island in 1970 9 where one
206.159 -> reactor in Pennsylvania had a partial
208.379 -> meltdown
209.519 -> and became one of the worst nuclear
211.5 -> accidents in history
213.06 -> after that nuclear's popularity began to
215.64 -> decline and plans to build dozens of new
217.98 -> reactors across the country were
219.48 -> canceled on mass in a developing country
222.299 -> you're desperate you take whatever power
224.28 -> plants that you can get whatever power
226.019 -> plants the rich world will finance for
228 -> you but in the rich world we got a
230.64 -> little bit complacent and it meant that
232.62 -> if enough people didn't like nuclear why
234.84 -> go through all that effort as a as a
236.7 -> national leader or as a political party
238.62 -> why put up with the opposition of
241.62 -> nuclear when you could just not build
243.36 -> anything or build something more popular
245.04 -> like winter solar the nuclear power
247.56 -> plants of today are also built with more
249.72 -> modern digital systems than their
251.28 -> predecessors they come with a lot of
253.799 -> benefits and one pretty significant risk
256.44 -> cyber security that's something nordvpn
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264.36 -> running a nuclear power plant but that
266.22 -> doesn't mean you shouldn't give yourself
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274.28 -> there are a lot of cyber security
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319.139 -> it's not just the US that's finding it
321.479 -> difficult to revive this industry
323.1 -> Hinckley Point C the only nuclear power
325.979 -> plant being built in the UK is at least
328.139 -> 18 months behind schedule even in France
331.02 -> which has a greater share of nuclear
332.759 -> power than any other country a new
335.039 -> reactor at flemenville is expected to
337.199 -> cost 300 million euros more than first
340.199 -> forecast
341.58 -> it's fair to say the U.S nuclear sector
344.34 -> has never fully recovered the last power
347.16 -> plant to begin construction here was
348.84 -> back in 1978
350.94 -> having any new reactors let alone whole
353.759 -> new plants was starting to feel like a
355.68 -> thing of the past but that's all about
358.199 -> to change America
363.18 -> America we are back America is finally
365.759 -> getting its first new reactors in
367.68 -> decades built on the site of the
369.3 -> existing plant Vogel in Georgia which
371.52 -> has been home to two since 1989. located
374.82 -> east of Waynesboro close to the border
377.039 -> with South Carolina units three and four
379.32 -> Vogel are the only nuclear reactors
381.84 -> currently under construction in the
383.639 -> whole United States
385.5 -> once finished they'll provide enough
387.36 -> clean energy through nuclear fission to
389.34 -> power half a million homes and
391.02 -> businesses for 60 to 80 years
393.72 -> when combined with units 1 and 2 Vogel
396.24 -> will generate more electricity than any
398.34 -> other nuclear facility in the US
400.86 -> the products being managed by Southern
402.72 -> nuclear and Georgia Power with Bechtel
405.18 -> handling the construction
407.4 -> as you can imagine building a nuclear
409.199 -> reactor involves bringing together a
411.3 -> whole lot of components some of them
412.919 -> small and others very large indeed by
416.639 -> far the biggest piece on each unit is
418.62 -> the ca20 module five stories high and
421.979 -> weighing almost a thousand tons they
424.02 -> store used fuel exchange heat and
426.539 -> collect wastes wooden floor sections
429 -> were prefabricated on sites and putting
431.4 -> the modules in place required the
433.139 -> heaviest lifts on the whole project
434.88 -> using one of the largest cranes in the
437.16 -> world
437.96 -> installing the two steam generators
440.52 -> needed for each reactor was another
442.68 -> complex task assembled in South Korea
445.74 -> they had to be transported from the
447.419 -> coast to the site by train they're 25
450.12 -> meters long and also had to be craned
452.819 -> into place
454.02 -> so how much has all this heavy lifting
456.419 -> cost and has it remained on schedule
458.34 -> well a lot and no
462.06 -> back in 2009 when the project was first
464.819 -> approved it was set to Total around 14
467.039 -> billion US dollars with a Target
468.9 -> completion date of 2016 for unit 3 and
472.02 -> 2017 for unit 4. now we're in 2022 and
476.88 -> the work is only just wrapping up and as
479.4 -> for that price tank well it's looking
481.62 -> closer to 30 billion US dollars that
485.58 -> makes it a contender for the most
487.08 -> expensive nuclear power product ever and
489.96 -> it's not even an entire plant just an
492 -> extension albeit a big one to be fair a
495.599 -> large public infrastructure project
496.979 -> going over budgets is not exactly
499.08 -> unusual it's kind of normal for the
501.84 -> final cost to be somewhat higher than
503.639 -> the original estimates especially when
505.62 -> the Project's been running for years or
507.479 -> even decades but now it's costing more
510 -> than double what it was supposed to you
511.979 -> can see why some people are a bit
513.599 -> annoyed as for the delays well a lot of
516.419 -> it comes down to the way it's been
517.8 -> managed the company that makes the
519.719 -> reactors and that was previously the
521.52 -> main contractor has had a part to play
523.94 -> Vogel 3 and 4 are the first AP 1000
527.519 -> units from the Westinghouse electric
529.08 -> company to be built in the US however in
532.14 -> 2017 the company filed for bankruptcy
534.6 -> due to heavy losses from Vogel and the
537.54 -> VC saw plants in South Carolina where it
540.18 -> was supplying a further two reactions
542.279 -> although work on Vogel 3 and 4 was able
545.22 -> to continue during this period a new
547.44 -> contractor Bechtel had to be appointed
549.72 -> for the rest of the build we forgot how
552.3 -> to build now the theory was that because
555.779 -> several ap-1000s the reactor design that
558.72 -> was being used were in construction in
560.88 -> other countries we could learn from
562.68 -> those countries and learn how to
564.24 -> construct it ourselves but with the
566.279 -> supply chains different management teams
568.68 -> different engineering teams different we
571.26 -> just didn't learn from the ap-1000s
574.2 -> under construction in China construction
576.54 -> productivity was another challenge
579 -> that's led to delays at Vogel along with
581.399 -> the significant amount of remediation
583.14 -> that's had to be done by that we mean
585.839 -> having to redo certain jobs and on a
588.54 -> nuclear reactor that can be somewhat
590.519 -> time consuming according to one report
592.68 -> almost 100 miles of cable around eight
595.32 -> percent of the total used had to be cut
597.6 -> or replaced another report revealed how
600.959 -> on one part of the project an inspection
602.82 -> to check bolts were tightened to a
604.5 -> specific degree didn't happen that meant
607.56 -> they all had to be loosened and retained
610.019 -> correctly before the inspection record
611.82 -> could be signed off
613.5 -> then in December 2021 it emerged that
616.74 -> tens of thousands of these records had
618.72 -> not been completed creating a massive
621.12 -> backlog the tasks had been carried out
624.06 -> but the paperwork hadn't been done
627.24 -> but today with these problems now sorted
629.94 -> the mood is a lot more positive and the
632.459 -> end is finally in sight
634.44 -> construction of unit 3 is now officially
636.66 -> complete and in August 2022 unit 4 was
640.019 -> at 96
641.3 -> that same month Southern Company
643.56 -> received some much needed good news the
646.68 -> nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed
648.6 -> that unit 3 conformed its regulations
651 -> that gave the plant clearance to start
653.459 -> loading Fuel and begin the startup
655.44 -> sequence for the Reactor with commercial
657.48 -> operation now expect in the first
659.459 -> quarter of 2023
661.8 -> the plan is to have unit 4 up and
663.959 -> running by December that year
666.54 -> it may have taken much longer and cost
668.82 -> far more than expected but the
670.86 -> conclusion of this project will be a big
673.019 -> moment not just for the people of
674.459 -> Georgia but the entire us
677.04 -> while there's no sign yet of a mad rush
679.26 -> to build more of these things more will
681.36 -> surely follow and several are already
683.399 -> planned or proposed but they're yet to
686.22 -> begin construction once Vogel crosses
688.62 -> the finish line and lessons have been
690.3 -> learned it could help kick these other
691.98 -> schemes into gear if Vogel is being
695.04 -> finished in a time when the alternatives
697.56 -> to vocal are extremely expensive or only
701.339 -> a partial substitute for what nuclear
703.86 -> power would be
705 -> the conditions are right to move on and
707.82 -> start other large-scale nuclear plants
709.94 -> or to start on some new designs that
713.279 -> people have been proposing for building
714.72 -> around the U.S we now have proof the US
717.6 -> remains serious about this importance
719.64 -> and still quite divisive form of energy
721.8 -> thanks to the hard work that's been
723.779 -> carried out with this project
725.76 -> it proves that nuclear power has a
728.16 -> future in America but to what extent
730.32 -> we'll just have to wait and see
732.899 -> this video was made possible by nordvpn
735.48 -> you can learn more about that at the
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