Georgia Power’s Vogtle nuclear facility hits major milestone

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Georgia Power ordered the first nuclear fuel load for Vogtle Unit 4 at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga.

It was the second major milestone for the facility in the last 12 months as fuel for Unit 3 was ordered last summer. They are the first newly designed nuclear reactors built in the United States in 30 years.

The fuel will eventually be loaded into the reactor vessels to support startup once the reactors begin operating. After the initial fueling, approximately one-third of the total fuel assemblies will be replaced during each refueling outage after the units begin operating. It is similar to the process used at the existing Vogtle units 1 & 2.

Also, workers have installed 10 of the 16 shield building panels around the Unit 4 containment vessel. The shields provide an additional layer of safety around the containment vessel and nuclear reactor to protect the structure from any potential impacts.

The Vogtle 3 & 4 units represent the largest construction projects in the state of Georgia. There are more than 9,000 workers currently on-site with more than 800 permanent jobs created once the units begin operating.

The project is now approximately 84 percent complete.

Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, serves 2.6 million customers in Georgia.