A steam generator is lowered into Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle
In spite of the drama with the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and the uncertainty surrounding the Public Service Commission’s ongoing support of the project, the installation of two new nuclear reactors at Augusta’s Plant Vogtle is carrying on as planned.
The first bit of good news came Tuesday, as the PSC voted 4-1 in favor of continuing construction, provided Georgia Power comes up with a new progress report and schedule for completion by the end of the month. Behind schedule and over-budget, the project’s fate was on unsteady ground earlier in the year as a similar project nearby in South Carolina threw in the towel. Georgia Power though has reiterated their intent to finish the project, which when complete promises to save Georgians huge amounts of money.
Under the new agreement with Westinghouse and parent company Toshiba, another Southern Company subsidiary, Southern Nuclear, has assumed control of construction activities.
On Wednesday the Atlanta-based utility had another update on their progress – the installation of a 1.4 million-pound steam generator into the Unit 3 nuclear island. The 80 foot long generators are used to use the heat put out by the nuclear reactors to convert water into steam, thereby cooling down and removing excess energy from the plant. Made in South Korea, the reactors were brought into the Port of Savannah and then delivered to Plant Vogtle via rail. Each of the two new AP1000 nuclear units will require two generators, and the other three are already on site and ready to be installed.
