On Monday Georgia Power officials announced that Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4 has officially come online for commercial use, the culmination of a 16-year journey that sees the plant as now the single largest generator of clean energy in the United States.
Unit 4 produces enough energy to power approximately 500,000 homes, which it will do for the next 60-80 years alongside Unit 3 which came online last July. With all four units in operation Vogtle will produce more than 30 million megawatt hours of electricity each year.
The process of building the two units – the first new commercial nuclear reactors built in the U.S. in more than three decades – began all the way back in 2006 when Southern Nuclear, which will operate the plant on behalf of co-owners Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities, formally applied for an Early Site Permit. In 2008 Georgia Power signed a contract with Westinghouse to build the units, and construction began the following year.
There were no shortage of twists and turns over the next fifteen years, most notably Westinghouse’s bankruptcy in 2017 which led to delays. But with the support of the state’s Public Service Commission the project carried on.
Georgia Power President and CEO Kim Greene was proud to announce the project’s completion.
“It’s an exciting time to be a Georgian as our state continues to grow and thrive, with new demand for more clean energy each year. The new Vogtle units are a key piece of our strategy to meet the energy needs of our customers not only tomorrow, but 20 years from now,” said Greene Monday in a statement. “As we mark the completion of the Vogtle 3 & 4 expansion, we’re grateful for the leadership and foresight of the Georgia PSC, as well as the steadfast dedication from all of the project’s co-owners. I’m also so proud of the teams who have worked tirelessly to deliver the first newly constructed nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years – representing a long-term investment that will benefit our customers and the state of Georgia for decades to come.”
The new reactors also provide an economic boon to the Augusta area, creating 800 permanent jobs at the facility along with more than 9,000 onsite jobs at the peak of construction including engineers, welders, electricians, pipefitters, plumbers and many more.
“The completion of the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear generation plant to include Unit 3 and now Unit 4 is a hallmark achievement for Southern Company, the state of Georgia and the entire United States,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power. “Working with our partners across government, industry, labor and beyond, we have added new nuclear generation to the diverse energy resources that enhance the reliability, resiliency and affordability of our system as we work to achieve our goal to be net zero by 2050. These new Vogtle units not only will support the economy within our communities now and in the future, they demonstrate our global nuclear leadership.”
