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First fuel shipment for Vogtle-3 delivered

Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power has announced the receipt of the initial shipment of nuclear fuel for Vogtle-3, characterizing the event as a “major step” for the two-unit nuclear expansion project currently under way at the Vogtle nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Ga.

Next step: With the receipt of the first nuclear fuel assemblies, the project is now focused on one of the major milestones for Unit 3, hot functional testing, the last critical step before fuel load and, ultimately, in-service operation, Georgia Power said.

In October, Vogtle plant operator Southern Nuclear announced a readjustment of its July 2020 “aggressive site schedule” dates for Unit 3 hot functional testing, fuel load, and commercial operation. The dates were moved from October 2020, December 2020, and May 2021, respectively, to January 2021, April 2021, and the third quarter of 2021. Southern Nuclear said that hot functional testing could start as late as the end of March 2021 and fuel load as late as mid-year 2021 without jeopardizing Vogtle-3’s November 2021 regulatory approved in-service date.

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Major milestone reached at Vogtle-3

Vogtle-3, in September. Photo: Georgia Power

Georgia Power has announced the completion of cold hydro testing at Vogtle-3, one of two 1,100-MWe Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactors under construction at the Vogtle site near Waynesboro, Ga.

Unit 3 construction is now approximately 94 percent complete, and the total Vogtle-3 and -4 expansion project is about 88 percent complete, according to the company’s October 19 announcement. The last major test for Vogtle-3 before initial fuel loading is hot functional testing.

Cold hydro testing of Unit 3 confirmed that the reactor’s coolant system functions as designed and verified that the welds, joints, pipes, and other components of the coolant system and associated high-pressure systems do not leak when under pressure, Georgia Power said. The company also noted that it expects to meet the regulatory-approved in-service dates for the new reactors: November 2021 for Unit 3, and November 2022 for Unit 4.

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Vogtle site makes progress with critical testing of new units

Closed vessel testing has been completed at Vogtle-3 at the Georgia Power site near Waynesboro, Ga., the company announced on July 14. The completion of the milestone prepares Unit 3 for cold hydro testing, which is required ahead of initial fuel load.

Vogtle-3 and -4 are the first new nuclear power reactors built in the United States in the past three decades. The new units will be powered by AP1000 reactors.

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Final major module for Vogtle-3 installed

The CB-20 module being installed at Vogtle-3. Photo: Georgia Power

A massive water tank has been placed atop the containment vessel and shield building roof at Vogtle-3, one of two AP1000 reactors currently under construction at Southern Company’s nuclear expansion project near Waynesboro, Ga. The installation represents the final module placement for the unit and marks the latest significant milestone to be reached at the Vogtle site.

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Vogtle-3 integrated head package set in place

Vogtle-3’s integrated head package. Photo: Georgia Power

Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power has placed the integrated head package (IHP) atop the Unit 3 reactor vessel at the Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Waynesboro, Ga., marking the latest major milestone in the construction of the first new U.S. nuclear reactors in more than 30 years.

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ANS Friday Matinee - April 20, 2016

ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee

Our Friday Matinee for today is the latest of the excellent Vogtle Timeline videos produced by Georgia Power to document the construction progress of Vogtle Units 3 and 4.  The series stands as one of the most thorough video documentations of nuclear plant construction ever filmed, and this latest update is every bit as informative as its predecessors.

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ANS Nuclear Cafe Friday Matinee - April 29

ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee

This week's Friday Matinee features an update on the construction progress at Plant Vogtle's Units 3 and 4, the new AP1000 units being built in Georgia. This is the First Quarter 2016 update and runs less than ten minutes.

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ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee / February 5, 2016

ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee

This week's ANS Nuclear Cafe Friday Matinee features an update from South Carolina Electric & Gas on "A Year of Progress for V. C. Summer Units 2 and 3."  These two AP1000 units are being built near an existing nuclear unit, and not too far from the former (now decommissioned) site of "The Southeast's First Nuclear Power Plant," the Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor.

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Friday Nuclear Matinee - Race for Atomic Power

Friday Nuclear Matinee

This week's feature is a half hour documentary on the history of the National Reactor Testing Station, or NRTS (now part of Idaho National Laboratory) which has seen 52 different and largely unique reactors constructed on the same, enormous site.  The importance of efforts at NRTS over the years cannot be underestimated.

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