Georgia Power announced that the second steam generator has been safely placed for Unit 3 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 positioned adjacent to the unit's other steam generator, which was placed in August. With the completion of this week's lift, both steam generators are now in place for the new unit.   

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.

Since Southern Nuclear, the Southern Company subsidiary which operates the existing units at Plant Vogtle, assumed control of the site from Westinghouse this summer, momentum has accelerated with a focus on increased productivity and safe, high-quality construction. Other major milestones achieved in recent weeks 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.  The Unit 4 CA03 module is a critical component and part of the In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank. 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.

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. New photos of progress at the construction site are available each month in the Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 Online Photo Gallery.

Vogtle Project Review Underway 

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. On August 31, Georgia Power filed a recommendation with the Georgia Public Service Commission to continue construction of the Vogtle nuclear expansion supported by all of the project's other co-owners. The recommendation was based on the results of a comprehensive schedule, cost-to-complete and cancellation assessment launched following the bankruptcy of Westinghouse in March. The Georgia PSC is expected to review the recommendation and make a decision regarding the future of the Vogtle 3 and 4 project as part of the 17th Vogtle Construction Monitoring proceeding. Read more here.

From the beginning of the Vogtle expansion, Georgia Power has worked to minimize the impact of the new units on customer bills. This effort continues during the Georgia PSC's review of the recommendation with the company recently announcing a conditional commitment of approximately $1.67 billion in additional loan guarantees for the project from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as well as receipt of the first of multiple scheduled parent guarantee payments from Toshiba. Today, the total expected rate impact of the project remains less than the original estimate, after including anticipated customer benefits from federal production tax credits, interest savings from loan guarantees from the DOE and the fuel savings of nuclear energy.

Final approval and issuance of these additional loan guarantees by the DOE cannot be assured and are subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements, completion of due diligence by the DOE, receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other conditions.