Waynesboro, Ga., Nov. 30, 2016 – Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the completion of two construction milestones at the Vogtle nuclear power plant site: placement of the Unit 3 reactor vessel and the Unit 4 CA01 module. The milestones – achieved within a 48-hour span – open up new work fronts at the Vogtle site, where Westinghouse is delivering two of its AP1000® units.
“With the placement of the Unit 3 reactor vessel Nov. 23, we now transition to the next exciting phase of this project – moving from strictly civil engineering and construction to assembly of the unit’s reactor system,” said Jeff Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, New Plants and Major Projects. “In addition, we are applying learning from our delivery experience to the construction of Unit 4.”
Workers will now begin to place bulk commodities like piping, pumps and cabling throughout the Unit 3 reactor system. Crews will also advance preparations for the installation of the first steam generator in Unit 3 next year.
Two days before setting the 278-metric-ton reactor vessel, Westinghouse placed the 907-metric-ton CA01 module for Unit 4. The steel structure will house a number of major components in containment, including the reactor vessel, steam generators and pressurizer. The CA01 module is 21 meters long, 29 meters wide and 24 meters high, and was assembled on-site at the project’s 12-story Module Assembly Building.
Westinghouse is constructing two AP1000 units at Vogtle for Georgia Power Company. Two additional units are under construction at the V.C. Summer site in Jenkinsville, S.C., for South Carolina Electric and Gas Company. The company also is nearing completion of the world’s first four AP1000 units, at China’s Sanmen and Haiyang sites, with commissioning tests underway for the lead units at each site.
The AP1000 plant uses innovative safety systems that rely on the laws of nature including gravity, natural circulation and condensation. The plant design harnesses these natural forces to automatically shut down the reactor without human intervention for up to 72 hours. The safety systems are known as “passive” because they do not require operator actions, mechanical equipment or AC power and provide operators with the time necessary to achieve and maintain safe shutdown of the plant in the unlikely event of a design-basis accident.