Vogtle, which is seven years behind schedule, has seen the cost that its owners will pay double to more than $31 billion. But the utility said commercial operation could be put off again if other problems develop. The reactor has already hit full power output as part of its testing, which Georgia Power said Friday was 95% complete. The reactor has been shut down while repairs are made. It's located in a separate building, where steam from the heat created by fission in the nuclear reactor is piped to spin a turbine, generating up to 1,100 megawatts of electricity. The generator is not part of the reactor itself. The company now estimates the reactor will begin reliably sending electricity to the grid in July, missing the most recent deadline of June. said Friday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has a problem in the hydrogen system that is used to cool its main electrical generator. Commercial operation of a new reactor at a Georgia nuclear power plant has been delayed for at least another month. Now, the pace of new nuclear construction must accelerate globally to meet decarbonisation goals and ensure energy security.ATLANTA, Ga. "Congratulations to all those who have worked so hard to deliver this project. "Vogtle 3 will soon be supplying clean electricity to millions of people in Georgia," World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León commented. The design has also selected by Poland for its nuclear energy programme and is being considered for deployment in countries including Bulgaria and Ukraine. Unit 4 is currently expected to enter service before the end of the first quarter of 2024.įour AP1000 units are in operation in China with four more under construction, and two more planned. The units are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities, and will be operated by Southern Nuclear. "This is a significant step toward delivering clean, reliable and safe power to the people of Georgia for generations to come." "We are honoured to share this incredible moment with Southern Nuclear, Georgia Power and the project's co-owners, and with the entire team at Vogtle," Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said. A strategic partnership of Cameco Corporation and Brookfield Renewable Partners is currently in the process of acquiring Westinghouse in a transaction expected to close before the end of this year. Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power, both subsidiaries of Southern Company, took over management of the construction project in 2017 following Westinghouse's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Construction of that reactor began in 1973 and was suspended in 1985 before work resumed in 2007.Ĭonstruction of the two AP1000s - so-called Generation III+ reactors with fully passive safety systems and a modular construction design - began at Vogtle in 2013, with work starting on unit 3 in March and unit 4 in November of that year. The last reactor to start up in the USA before Vogtle 3 was Watts Bar unit 2, in 2016. This is a truly exciting time as we prepare to bring online a new nuclear unit that will serve our state with clean and emission-free energy for the next 60 to 80 years," he said. "When you consider the history of safe and reliable operations at Vogtle Units 1 and 2 for decades now, it puts today’s milestone in perspective that Plant Vogtle will be a four-unit site making it the largest of its kind in the US. Initial criticality is one of the final steps in the startup process and has required "tremendous diligence and attention to detail" from the teams involved, he said. Georgia Power President and CEO Chris Womack said the company remains focused on bringing the unit online safely. Two Westinghouse AP1000 units are being built at the Vogtle site near Waynesboro in Georgia, which is already home to two operating pressurised water reactors. Georgia Power currently projects an in-service date for Vogtle 3 in May or June. Tests to ensure all systems are operating together and to validate operating procedures will be carried out throughout the start-up process before the unit is declared to be in commercial operation. Operators will then take the unit through a gradual power increase until it reaches its full power output. The reactor's power output will now be raised to prepare it for synchronisation to the electric grid, and the start of electricity generation. Initial criticality means that the nuclear fission reaction in the reactor is now self-sustaining, meaning the reactor can begin producing heat that will be used to make steam to produce electricity. Vogtle 3 pictured in February (Image: Georgia Power) Georgia Power has announced that the AP1000 - the first new nuclear unit to be built in the USA in more than three decades - has safely reached initial criticality.
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