The United States underwent an economic transformation around the end of the 19th Century as its industrial economy matured, big business expanded rapidly, and family farms gave way to large-scale agricultural enterprises.
And the advent of electricity generation and distribution, fueled mostly with coal, advanced industrial automation and production around the world.
Today, thousands of megawatts of aging coal-fueled power plants have been shut down in the United States. A total of 23,400 megawatts were shuttered in 2017 and 2018, according to Fortune Magazine. An additional 14,900 megawatts were eliminated between 2009 and 2012.
What’s replaced these generation resources? Renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, as well as natural gas, which is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel.
Nuclear energy, which, like coal, generates large-scale quantities of electricity, also remains key to America’s – and Georgia’s – energy futures.
The state’s electric utilities, including Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electricity of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities, are partnering in the expansion of Plant Vogtle.
The co-owners voted to move forward with construction of the expansion project, and the Georgia Public Service Commission approved Georgia Power’s request to fund its portion, in December 2017.
The utilities recently announced the placement of the nuclear reactor vessel inside Unit 4 containment. Standing 35 feet tall, the reactor vessel functions as a heat source to produce steam that will generate electricity.
The new units are the first to be built in the United States in more than 30 years and the only new nuclear units currently under construction in America. Expected on-line in November 2021 (Unit 3) and November 2022 (Unit 4), the new units can generate enough emission-free electricity to power approximately 500,000 homes and businesses throughout the state.
Today, the Vogtle 3 & 4 project is the largest jobs-producing construction project in the State of Georgia, employing more than 7,000 workers. The plant will provide more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operating.
