Another Major Milestone Reached for the Second Westinghouse AP1000® Reactor at the Plant Vogtle Site
Cranberry Township, PA – Aug. 17, 2023 – Westinghouse Electric Company congratulates Georgia Power, Southern Nuclear, and other Vogtle project partners, on fuel load for the new Plant Vogtle Unit 4 AP1000® reactor near Waynesboro, GA. Vogtle’s Unit 3 AP1000 reactor entered commercial operation on July 31.
Unit 4 completed Hot Functional Testing in May and will be the sixth AP1000 reactor to reach commercial operation worldwide, which is projected to occur later this year or the first quarter 2024. The advanced nuclear fuel for Unit 4 was manufactured at Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina.
“Plant Vogtle is well on its way to becoming the largest source of clean energy in the United States and we are very proud that our advanced, best-in-class AP1000 technology is making it possible,” said Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse President and Chief Executive Officer.
Vogtle features four Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, including the two new AP1000 reactors. Once all units are operating, they will generate more than 4,500 megawatts of reliable, carbon-free electricity, establishing Vogtle as the largest producer of electricity in the country. Units 3 and 4 can each generate enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses.
The AP1000 units at Plant Vogtle are Generation III+ PWRs with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and have the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. Four AP1000 units are currently setting operational performance records in China with six additional reactors under construction. Poland recently selected the AP1000 reactor for its nuclear energy program; Ukraine has made firm commitments for nine AP1000 units; and Westinghouse announced in June that Bulgaria selected the AP1000 technology for the Kozloduy nuclear site. The technology is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, India and in the United States.
*video courtesy of Georgia Power
