Georgia Power, Google agree to fund nuclear reactor upgrades

Georgia Power recently announced an agreement with Google, in which the giant technology company agreed to help pay for upgrades to Georgia’s nuclear reactors, according to WABE.

The utility company wants to upgrade four of the state’s older nuclear reactors so that they produce more energy. 

Although the Georgia Public Service Commission approved upgrades to Plant Vogtle last year, specifics about how to pay for the upgrades were not outlined.

Georgia Power is now asking the commission to make upgrades at Plant Hatch near Baxley too and to create a new subscription program that allows large-load customers like Google to pay for it.

Google has set its own deadline to use only carbon-free energy by 2030, and nuclear energy could help the tech giant reach that goal.

The proposed program would have large-load customers like Google pay a subscription fee on top of its electricity bill to help cover the costs of nuclear upgrades.

Georgia Power says the upgrades will add 96 megawatts of nuclear capacity to the grid and provide around $900 million in estimated benefits to customers over the lifetime of the units.

The Public Service Commission still needs to approve the proposal before it is implemented.