Duke Power's Cherokee County nuclear power plant

[GSP Tiger]

Duke Power plans Cherokee nuclear plant

Spartanburg Herald-Journal (SC)

2006/3/16

Cherokee Co. Chosen As Site For Potential Nuclear Plant

WYFF-TV 4 (NBC)

2006/3/16

Duke Power intends to build a new nuclear power plant in Cherokee County creating about 1,000 jobs. An application for the new plant may be filled with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission within two years. No date has been set for plant construction.

More energy and more jobs would be a great boost for Gaffney, Cherokee County and the entire upstate.

[monsoon]

This is approximately where Duke was building the Cherokee nuclear plant in the 80s but never finished construction. This will be the first new nuclear plant in the USA in decades.

[Spartan]

I had some friends go to check out the site recently where they filmed "The Abyss" -which was at that abandoned, and partially constructed, nuclear power plant near Cherokee Falls. They said that there were trucks going in and out, and guards protecting everything. Very much active. Its a logical move on Duke Power's part. Its good for Cherokee County too.

They will be operating with an output of 2.23 gigawatts. Sounds like something out of "Back to the Future"

[GSP Tiger]

Article:

Environmental groups unhappy with plans to build nuclear plant

Spartanburg Herald-Journal (SC)

2006-04-06

The new plant already has opposition from two environmental organizations.

I do not know why environmental groups fail to thoroughly view the records of nearby nuclear plants how safe they have been operated within the past thirty years.

[Spartan]

These people are nuts. If they don't like this option then they will hate the idea of buliding a new coal fired plant.

[jfl25]

Some people would just be happy if we all lived in tents in the forest.If that is the kind of life they want they sould move to the forest way away from any city or town .I think this reactor is great news for the upstate region as a whole not just Cherokee county.

[g-man430]

I'm not with this nuclear power plant deal or against it, but I am one of those environmental people, so quit bashing on people like us who care about the environment in this world. That's not what this forum is about.

[jfl25]

I never said I was against enviromentalist's and I definitly did not BASH anyone. Some people take things to the extreme and that is what i'm talking about.Nuclear power has a proven safety factor if you dont beleive me research it.There has been some issues in the past but nuclear power has a much better track record than other energy sources.My point was if SOME people are that extreme about the issue they shouldn't live near it or Benefit from its power You cant have it both ways choose one or another.

[Fiddlestix]

I do not know why environmental groups fail to thoroughly view the records of nearby nuclear plants how safe they have been operated within the past thirty years.

On the other hand...

...and let me first say that I am -- by no stretch of the imagination -- an environmentalist however you may define it....

...but the track record of Duke Energy when it comes to turning wintry precipitation into a major disaster doesn't exactly provide much comfort. The added burden of some bad weather totally broke the company's back. Their people were nowhere to be found the first day of the latest ice disaster. And things got worse, not better, as they emerged from their hiding places and started appearing.

Nobody's blaming them for ice or tree limbs, but their responsiveness and crisis management and contingency planning was alarming. To think that they're going to add a new nuke station to their responsibilities in light of the company's reaction to past crises doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. One can make the argument that this is not the ideal company -- or corporate culture -- to be given the keys to the nation's first new nuke station in decades.

Proponents of nuclear power may understandably be excited about nuclear power in America expanding on a pace that keeps up with, say, Iran. But in terms of stewardship over such an important development -- Duke Power's disappearing act when faced with crises in the region might have many of those same people understandably cautious.

You can argue that the nuke stations are an entirely different ballgame if you want, but given the stakes and the fact that this is all part of the same corporate culture, I don't know if it's such a great bet. As long as we're talking about "track records," that is....

[GSP Tiger]

What does the December 2005 ice storm and its power outage have to do with this new nuclear plant?

A few years ago, California was having rolling blackouts because its existing plants maximized their outputs. Had more plants been built during the 1980s and 1990s, more electricty ay have been produced to power the appliances and devices you depend on daily.

The population in upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina continues to grow steady each year. This leads to more power being produced to serve homes, businesses, etc. The existing plant in Oconee County can only produce so much and it is time to prepare to produce more to what we already have. When built, it will be safely produced and managed by people who know what they are doing.

[g-man430]

Duke Power sucks. They should be banned. The December ice storm last year and a new nuclear power plant go together perfectly too me. Duke Power wants to build a new nuclear power plant which will provide thousands of new jobs to make the public and the politicians in this state stop hating them after what happened with the ice storm in 2005.

[GSP Tiger]

Why is everyone blaming Duke Energy for the mess? Our state representatives have lacked the effort to prepare long before the mess in December. Piedmont Natural Gas jacked their prices up to turn off their customers' power.

[g-man430]

Yeah, but Duke Power didn't have as many other power companies up here with their trucks before the storm hit as they should of. Duke and our state's politicians should of learned their lesson from the ice storm in 2002 (i think that's when it was) but they didn't.

[jfl25]

Has anyone ever heard of the term ACT OF NATURE. Duke power did not have anything to do with creating the ice storm. Sure the response could have faster but hindsite is 20/20 .The Nuclear power plant has absolutly nothing to do with the response of line crews. I believe they are totaly operated by different parts of the company.I think Duke needs to start burying there power lines ,but that is a totaly different topic.

[GMoxley]

These people are nuts. If they don't like this option then they will hate the idea of buliding a new coal fired plant.

I agree. The radical environmentalist have a hard time understanding the ideas of trade-offs. For instance, if we don't build a nuclear power plant, we'll have to build a coal fired one. Which one is better? One that has a proven track record (and by the way, the new ones being built should be safer than the existing ones) or a plant that spews tons of carbon into the atmosphere.

It's just so strange when people don't understand this kind of stuff. Its as though they completely close off their minds' to reason....kinda like....Pat Robertson

[Spartan]

They could build another lake and use some hydro power

[monsoon]

Duke Energy is asking regulators in NC and SC to allow them to rasie electrical rates in order to pay for these plants. It is a controversial request because they are asking for this at least decade before the plant could be built and they won't even guarantee it. The are asking NC customers to pay 2/3rds and the rest would come from SC customers.

At least in NC, the Utilities Commission is expected to rule against them. They say that state law does not for this kind of investment, and the remember that Duke did not finish the prior project at Cherokee and and rate payers ended up footing the bill for that mistake. There is also protest from legislators because the plant is not in NC so they won't be able to hold public hearings on the matter.