Georgia Nuclear Power Plant Vogtle Construction Reaches Milestones

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 06/14/16

Walter Jones, of the Augusta Chronicle, reports that executives at Georgia Power Co. are celebrating the achievement of milestones in the construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, the final vertical level and the delivery of the final coolant pump. Construction is still only one-third complete, but these achievements are significant, company officials said. Reaching the highest level of construction above the ground is a symbolic moment for the 5,300 workers at the site, as it is at all major construction projects. The highest point on the job is the top of the cooling towers at 601 feet, and crews are now at the top of the second one. Delivery of the 4th and final coolant pump has a different significance. It means that when construction crews are ready to install it and the other three, there will be no waiting. Georgia Power engineers have closely monitored construction of nuclear plants in China using the same AP-1000 design, often spending weeks at a time on site in Asia. Since many of them began construction before Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the Georgia engineers have had the chance to learn from dificulties their Chinese counterparts encountered. One of the problems was construction delays caused by waiting for coolant pumps to be delivered, according to David McKinney, the Southern Nuclear vice president. By prodding the pump maker, Georgia Power was able to get all four for Unit 3 on site ahead of their need. Next, the 187.5-ton pumps will be installed so they can circulate the hot water within the reactor to control heat. The company is also celebrating the placement of the last of what it calls the Big Six modules for the nuclear island of Unit 3, the heart of the nuclear plant. The modules, weighing 52 tons and 237 tons, were assembled in a separate staging area on site and then lifted into place. They are part of a 75,000-cu.ft. tank that will contain water treated with boron that will also play a heat-control role. Read on ..