VOGTLE 3 & 4 | COVER STORY


Above left: The Vogtle Unit 3 steam turbine Above right: Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are the first new nuclear units to be built in the US in over 30 years


delays, including as a result of Westinghouse’s bankruptcy in 2017, that saw the projects fall several years behind schedule. Nonetheless, in 2017 Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, contracted global engineering, construction and project management firm Bechtel to manage construction efforts of the new reactors. Bechtel operations come under the direction of Southern Nuclear, another Southern Company subsidiary, which already operates the two existing units at the Vogtle plant and will assume operational control of the two new units once they are fully commissioned. The Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is jointly owned


by Georgia Power with a 45.7% holding, Oglethorpe Power Corporation holds 30%, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) has a 22.7% stake and Dalton Utilities has 1.6% equity.


The new units are billed as an essential part of Georgia


Power’s commitment to deliver ‘safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy’ for its customers. The units will also play a significant role in supporting Southern Company’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.


Construction of Vogtle 3 & 4 The various modules used for Vogtle units 3 & 4 were manufactured in advance of arriving in Waynesboro ready to be assembled into larger components. Major modules have been arriving at the site by rail and truck since 2011. These modules have included a range of plant components such as floor and wall sections and supporting structures that surround the containment buildings and reactor vessels. The last of the 1,485 major modules required to complete construction had been manufactured and delivered to the construction site in late 2019. Subsequently, in April 2021, all modules for both Vogtle


expansion units were put in place when a large water tank, known as CB20, was lifted into its position at the top of Unit 4’s containment vessel and shield building roof. The placement also represented the last major crane lift at the project site. This module, the Passive Containment Cooling Water


Storage Tank, is a major part of the AP1000 reactor’s passive safety system. It stands some 11 metres (35 feet) tall and weighs more than 32 tonnes (720,000 lbs). The tank, which


can be filled from water stored elsewhere on site, will hold some 2.8 million litres (750,000 US gals). This water tcan be used cool the reactor in the event of a cooling system failure and can also be directed into the used fuel pool if necessary. At the peak of construction, the Vogtle 3 & 4 workforce included 1,500 Bechtel staff and nearly 7,500 members of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU). With more than 7,000 workers at the Vogtle site, the project was the largest construction project in the state of Georgia, as well as a major US infrastructure development. Once the construction phase is bought to a conclusion some 800 permanent jobs will be created as the units begin commercial operations. That day is close, Unit 3 completed Hot Functional


Testing in April 2021, when the plant systems achieved normal operating pressure and temperature, although without any nuclear fuel. The first nuclear fuel assemblies for Unit 3 arrived at the site in December 2021and last October fuel was loaded into Unit 3. During fuel loading, the 157 fuel assemblies were transferred from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool to the reactor core. In March this year, operators first initiated nuclear reactions and in April, Unit 3 first generated electricity and synchronized and connected to the electric grid. According to Georgia Power this was followed by testing through the full range of plant operations, including safely running at various power levels and operating through real-life conditions, including the operation of the reactor, plant control systems and support systems, and integrated plant operations. After Unit 3 reached 100% power on 29 May, Georgia


Power had projected a Unit 3 in-service date for the following month. However, the projects have experienced several delays as testing identified problems. Indeed, when Georgia Power received unanimous approval in December 2017 from the Georgia Public Service Commission to complete Vogtle units 3 and 4, the projected commissioning dates had been reported as expected in November 2021 for Unit 3 and November 2022 for Unit 4. Those dates have now been pushed back several times. Most recently, the in-service dates have been revised to the third quarter of this year for Unit 3 and possibly as late as the first quarter of next year for Unit 4.


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