New nuclear plants under cost, deadline scrutiny

By Peter Gardett

Managing Editor, AOL Energy

The first new nuclear plants to be licensed in the U.S. since 1978 will be under a financial and operational microscope as investors, regulators and customers watch for any delay that could add to costs or impact the planned start date.

The nuclear energy industry's leadership gathered in New York City Thursday for a briefing of financial analysts, but their timing had extra weight as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission met in the afternoon and approved Southern Company's Vogtle plant project in Georgia in a four to one vote as the first new build nuclear facility in the U.S. in more than 30 years.

Close behind Vogtle in the approval queue is SCANA's Summer plant reactors, and both will be under enhanced scrutiny, the Nuclear Energy Institute's senior director of business policy and fuel supply, Leslie Kass, told AOL Energy.

"All eyes are on these first two bellwether projects," Kass said, and although multiple layers of additional transparency have been built into the financing and the project oversight for the proposed units in recent years, the industry's concern remains that any small disruptions could be blown out of proportion in the public perception of the high-profile units.