A new nuclear reactor in the U.S. starts up. It's the first in nearly seven years

For the archetypal clip successful astir 7 years, a caller atomic reactor has started up successful the United States.

On Monday, Georgia Power announced that the Vogtle atomic reactor portion 3 has started a atomic absorption wrong the reactor.

Technically, this is called "initial criticality." It's erstwhile the atomic fission process starts splitting atoms and generating heat, Georgia Power said successful a written announcement.

The vigor generated successful the atomic reactor causes h2o to boil. The steam spins a turbine that's connected to a generator that creates electricity.

Vogtle's Unit 3 reactor volition beryllium afloat successful work successful May oregon June, Georgia Power said.

The past clip a atomic reactor reached the aforesaid milestone was astir 7 years agone successful May 2016 erstwhile the Tennessee Valley Authority started splitting atoms astatine the Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor successful Tennessee, Scott Burnell, a spokesperson for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told CNBC.

"This is simply a genuinely breathtaking clip arsenic we hole to bring online a caller atomic portion that volition service our authorities with cleanable and emission-free vigor for the adjacent 60 to 80 years," Chris Womack, CEO of Georgia Power, said successful a written statement. 

Including the recently turned-on Vogtle Unit 3 reactor, determination are presently 93 atomic reactors operating successful the United States and collectively, they make 20 percent of the electricity successful the United States.

Nuclear reactors, which assistance combat planetary warming, make astir half of the clean, carbon-free electricity generated successful the U.S.

Most of the atomic powerfulness reactors successful the United States were constructed betwixt 1970 and 1990, but operation slowed importantly aft the accident astatine Three Mile Island adjacent Middletown, Pa. connected March 28, 1979. From 1979 done 1988, 67 atomic reactor operation projects were canceled, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

However, due to the fact that atomic vigor is generated without releasing c dioxide emissions, which origin planetary warming, the existent accrued consciousness of urgency successful responding to clime alteration has fixed atomic vigor a accidental astatine a renaissance.

The outgo associated with gathering atomic reactors is simply a large obstruction to a imaginable resurgence successful atomic energy, however. And the caller builds astatine Vogtle person go a spot of an epitome of that charge: The operation of the 2 Vogtle reactors has been plagued by outgo overruns and delays.