|
|
Q. Why is SCE&G building a nuclear plant instead of using some newer, renewable technology?
A. Renewable technologies such as wind and solar energy continue to improve. However, they still cannot provide the large-scale, around-the-clock generation required to meet South Carolina’s energy needs. Sunlight is not available all the time. Wind is variable and unpredictable.
To produce as much electricity as Summer Station, a solar-powered plant would require panels covering an area the size of Columbia, S.C. Equivalent wind generation would require hundreds of turbines stretching across the entire South Carolina coast, the only place in our state where there’s enough wind to power them. By comparison, V.C. Summer takes up only a few square miles.
Q. Isn’t nuclear-generated electricity more expensive?
A. Nuclear plants are expensive to build, but their fuel is much cheaper than fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, coal and natural gas are currently the only other means of generating large quantities of electricity all day long, day after day.
The cost of generating electricity with nuclear fuel is one-third less than it was 10 years ago. During that time, the cost of generating electricity with fossil fuels has risen and is still going up.
Nuclear plants run a higher percentage of the time than any other plant type. That “capacity factor” holds down the cost of the electricity they produce. It also means the plants are incredibly reliable.
Q. Will my rates go up?
A. We have been working to develop sound financing strategies that will minimize rate increases to our customers, but incremental rates increases will be a part of the equation.
New legislation passed in 2007 will allow SCE&G to recover some costs during construction rather than in one lump sum at the end of the project, dramatically reducing costs over all. The adjustment to rates averages out to approximately 2.5 percent a year over the period of construction.
Paying financing costs while construction is ongoing, as opposed to waiting until the project has been completed, will lower the cost of the new units by about $1 billion. We estimate this reduction will save our customers approximately $4 billion in electric rates over the life of the new units. This is a far less expensive way of financing a project than rolling in a large rate increase at the end of the construction cycle.
Q. What about water – won’t these new nuclear plants consume large amounts of water?
A. All fuel-based electric power plants circulate large volumes of cooling water through the plant. But they actually consume only a small amount. It is projected that the existing V. C. Summer unit plus the two new units will consume less than 1.2 percent of the Broad River’s average flow.
A typical nuclear plant supplies electricity around the clock for 740,000 homes. A nuclear power plant that returns cooling water directly to the source, such as V.C. Summer’s current unit, consumes the equivalent of six to 16 gallons of water per day per household. Nuclear plants that use cooling towers, such as the two future units at V.C. Summer, would consume the equivalent of 20 to 26 gallons of water per day per household. By comparison, the average U.S. household of three people consumes about 300 gallons of water per day for indoor and outdoor uses, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Q. Who would want to live near nuclear plants?
A. A survey of plant neighbors across the U. S found that 77 percent are willing to have new nuclear plants nearby. That survey included people living right here around V.C. Summer. Recently, several states and localities have proposed incentive packages to lure new nuclear plants to their area.
Q. Aren’t nuclear plants bad for the environment?
A. Nuclear plants generate electricity virtually emissions-free: no gases that cause smog, acid rain or ozone. Nuclear plants provide large quantities of electricity without affecting air quality or contributing to global warming.
Recognized environmental leaders like Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand and Gaia Theory creator, James Lovelock, have shared their support for nuclear power.
As our nation looks for ways clean up our air and slow the pace of global warming, nuclear plants can be a vital part of the solution.
Q. Why build another power plant instead of promoting conservation?
A. SCE&G promotes energy conservation. You’ll find information on our Web site, and our speakers bureau provides presentations and tips. But conservation alone can’t supply the energy needs of this growing region. Nuclear power, conservation and alternative forms of generation must all play a part in our future energy needs.
Learn more about supporting renewable energy in South Carolina.
|
