Georgia Power: First steam generator placed for Vogtle Unit 3
Georgia Power announced that the first steam generator has been placed at the Vogtle nuclear expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia. The 1.4 million-pound steam generator was lifted into the Unit 3 nuclear island on Tuesday and marks the first major lift under the recently finalized service agreement with Westinghouse which places Southern Nuclear in charge of oversight activities at the construction site. Southern Nuclear is the Southern Company subsidiary which operates the existing units at Plant Vogtle.
Steam generators, measuring nearly 80 feet long, are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam using the heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. Each new AP1000 unit at Plant Vogtle requires two steam generators, all of which are currently onsite. The steam generators for the new units were fabricated in South Korea and transported to the site via the Port of Savannah and then via rail.
Following the Westinghouse bankruptcy filing on March 29, construction momentum has continued uninterrupted. In addition to Tuesday’s placement, other recent progress includes the placement of the first of four 85,000 pound accumulator tanks for the new units, as well as the KQ22 and KQ23 modules, all within the Unit 3 containment vessel. View the latest photos of progress at the construction site in the Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 Online Photo Gallery.
The new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle are the first to be built in the United States in more than 30 years. Georgia Power owns 45.7 percent of the new units, with the project’s other Georgia-based co-owners including Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.
Georgia Power continues efforts to complete its comprehensive schedule and cost-to-complete assessment, as well as cancellation cost assessment, for the Vogtle nuclear expansion by the end of the month. The final recommendation is expected to be filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of the 17th Vogtle Construction Monitoring (VCM) Report. Once submitted, Georgia Power will work with the Georgia PSC to determine the best path forward for customers.
Image Source: Georgia Power