Plant Vogtle was a bad deal for Georgians
The numbers that describe the Plant Vogtle project should make anyone roll their eyes: 10 years of construction time and $35 billion cost for a generating capacity of 2,500 megawatts (about $14 million per megawatt).
A solar power plant costs about $1 million per megawatt. A similar-sized solar power plant would cost around $2.5 billion. Solar power plants last between 25 and 40 years.
So, assuming the worst case, Georgia Power could have produced equivalent power production during the same period of time for 1/14 the cost using technology that is getting cheaper and more efficient all the time. Furthermore, solar power has no horrible side effects like radioactive spent fuel and the possibility of catastrophic meltdown. Plant Vogtle is a unicorn -- built from custom-made parts for a one-of-a-kind machine. The cost of maintaining plant Vogtle will be astronomical.
The recent increases to our power bills show that Georgia Power has used the Plant Vogtle project to significantly increase its revenue stream -- a bad deal for Georgians.
ALAN GREENBERG, DECATUR
Loopholes allow fossil fuel use to continue
Ending the use of fossil fuels should be soothing words to climate scientists. They’re not. At COP 28, the global climate conference’s closing statement inserted loopholes through which a monster truck could spew smoke. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says wording like “transition fuels” (natural gas) and expensive, underdeveloped “carbon capture and storage” are weasel words. They impede needed action while continuing to enrich gas companies and petro-states.
What’s the worry? The Marshall Islands at 6 feet above sea level will be obliterated at the projected sea level rise. Coastlines containing most of the world’s population will shrink, causing a huge migration of refugees. Our own Georgia coastal communities will suffer. Yet fossil fuel-rich countries are loath to lose fortunes if oil and gas use rapidly ends.
Humanity must make a choice. Either feed the beast that kills us or change to a fossil-free energy future that protects people, ensures global security and provides for a more livable world.
JEFF JOSLIN, ATLANTA
