Vogtle nuclear expansion project marks multiple construction milestones

Progress continues at the Vogtle nuclear expansion site near Waynesboro, Georgia. The latest milestones achieved over the past week include a critical concrete ‘super placement’ for Unit 3 and the lift of the 237-ton CA03 module for Unit 4.

The 71-hour continuous concrete placement included 1,844 cubic yards of concrete – enough to create a sidewalk more than six miles long. New concrete was poured in four key areas of the Unit 3 containment vessel – the refueling cavity, the bottom of the in-containment refueling water storage tank, the west steam generator cubicle walls and the pressurizer cubicle walls.

The 237-ton CA03 module for Unit 4 is a critical component and part of the In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST). The IRWST is a 75,300 cubic foot tank that, once the units are operational, is filled with borated water and provides passive heatsink within containment and backup cooling for the reactor vessel.

Other significant milestones achieved at the Vogtle construction site over the past 30 days include the placement of the CA33 floor module for Unit 3. The module, weighing 35 tons, was delivered to the site from Greenberry Industrial in three sub-modules that were then welded together on site in the Vogtle Module Assembly Building. Additionally, workers placed the Vogtle Unit 4 deaerator inside the turbine building. The 148-foot, 300-ton deaerator functions like a water purifier, eliminating dissolved gasses such as carbon dioxide and oxygen from feedwater. Deaeration prevents corrosion, helping to reduce plant maintenance and operating costs.

More than 6,000 workers from across the country are on-site at Plant Vogtle today working to complete the nation’s first new nuclear units in 30 years.

Image: Workers placed more than 1,800 cubic yards of concreted during the recent “super placement” at the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia (Source: Georgia Power)