In recent weeks, much attention has focused on the woes of the nuclear industry in Florida and the increasing number of delays and cost overruns associated with the Vogtle project in Georgia. This fragmented focus on nuclear power may create the impression that the industry’s challenges vary widely and are localized to specific reactor sites. They are not.
This paper presents an economic analysis of the new nuclear reactors being built in the South East United States, specifically South Carolina and Florida, where advanced cost recovery statutes to subsidize nuclear reactor construction have been enacted. It shows that industry-wide problems have undermined the economics of two of the three projects – the Summer reactor project in South Carolina and the Levy reactor project in Florida. South Carolina is used as the focal point of the analysis...