What construction cost does the EIA report for both McGuire units in 2007 dollars?
McGuire Nuclear Station is Duke Energy's two-unit pressurised-water nuclear plant beside Lake Norman near Huntersville, North Carolina. Construction began in 1971; its first reactor entered commercial service in December 1981 and the second in March 1984. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports a USD 4.0 billion construction cost for the entire station expressed in inflation-adjusted 2007 dollars. Duke Energy separately describes approximately USD 2 billion spent on the original build without specifying a common price year; the two statements use different price bases and must not be compared as nominal dollars.
Reported project cost
$4 billion
Cost basis: 2007
The short answer
$4 billion
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports USD 4.0 billion to build McGuire Nuclear Station, stated in inflation-adjusted 2007 dollars for the complete two-unit plant. That is not USD 4.0 billion of nominal 1984 expenditure.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
The EIA amount covers construction of the two-unit McGuire station. Duke Energy separately describes approximately USD 2 billion spent on the original build, but that owner account does not attach a common price year. The two different bases must not be compared as if both were nominal 1984 totals.
Project metrics
Key dimensions
- Powerdecommissioningcollaborative.org
- 2,316 MW
Project record
Timeline
1 December 1981
Opened or launched
U.S. Energy Information Administration - North Carolina nuclear profile
Project context
About McGuire Nuclear Station
McGuire sits beside Lake Norman near Huntersville, North Carolina. EIA dates commercial service for its first reactor to December 1981 and for the second to March 1984.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
EIA cites its 1986 Nuclear Power Plant Construction Activity report and states that it adjusted the construction figure to 2007 dollars using the U.S. Consumer Price Index. No additional adjustment or foreign-exchange conversion is applied by Clueterra.