On August 25, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in south-central Texas as a category 4 storm with 130-mph sustained winds, heavy rain, and devastating storm surge in coastal areas. Despite being in the affected region and calls from three watchdog groups to shut down the plant, the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power station continued to generate power at full capacity throughout the historic event.

Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, with agreement from the other three co-owners (Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power, and Dalton Utilities), has filed its recommendation with the Georgia Public Service Commission to complete the Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 project. The Vogtle project has been plagued by cost overruns, delays, and the bankruptcy of Westinghouse, the project’s original contractor, and caused many to examine whether the project should be completed. Units 3 and 4 were originally expected to be completed at a cost of $14.3B and were scheduled to be online in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Cost overruns and delays have caused the estimated cost of the project to increase to more than $25B and estimated online dates to be pushed out five years.

The concept of floating nuclear power plants recently resurfaced. It is under review in Siberia, led by Russia, and a potential fleet is under consideration for the South China Sea by China. Sounds like something from science fiction except that it was contemplated almost 50 years in the past. PSE&G contracted to have two nuclear power plants built at a shipyard in Florida and then floated up to the New Jersey coast. The project was cancelled in 1978 in part because the 1970s energy crisis caused local power demand to fall off.