Units 1-4 have the capacity to generate a total of more than 4,660 MW of electricity.  Specifically, Units 1 and 2 have a combined capacity of 2,430 MW, while Units 3 and 4 were designed with a combined capacity of 2,234 MW.

Together, Plant Vogtle is expected to produce more than 30 million MW hours annually. It also is estimated that the plant will avoid 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly.

Top 5 Nuclear Power Plants in the U.S.

1. Plant Vogtle – 4.66 GW
2. Palo Verde Generating Station – 3.93GW
3. Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant – 3.4GW
4. Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station – 2.77GW
5. South Texas Project Electric Generating Station – 2.7GW

 Source: Power Technology

• 9,000 construction workers at its peak
• 25,000 tons of steel (enough to build 27,000+ cars)
• 700,000 cubic yards of concrete (enough to build a sidewalk from Miami to Seattle)
• 600,000 lbs. – the weight of each reactor vessel for Units 3 & 4 (more than the Statue of Liberty)
• 7 million linear feet of cable
• 100 miles of piping that carries water throughout Units 3 & 4
• 1.3 million linear feet of conduit and supports
• 500,000 linear feet of pipe
• 1,600 people who currently support operations for the Units 3 & 4

Unit 4 at Plant Vogtle entered commercial service on April 29, 2024, adding 250 MW of emissions-free generation capacity to its portfolio. Together with Vogtle Unit 3, which entered commercial service on July 31, 2023, MEAG Power has added 500 MW of emissions-free generation capacity to its portfolio, an equivalent amount to power an estimated 227,000 homes and businesses. Both units will provide reliable, clean, safe and affordable baseload power to our Participant communities for the next 60 to 80 years.

Unit 3 Update

After entering into commercial service on July 31, 2023, Plant Vogtle Unit 3 has operated near flawlessly. By the end of May 2024, it had produced approximately 7 million net MWh of generation, and the capacity factor as of April 2024 was 93.7%, including 5 planned days of maintenance outage.

Passive Safety Systems

Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are designed with passive safety systems that utilize natural forces such as gravity, natural circulation and compressed gas – rather than electrical machinery (pumps, fans, diesels, chillers, etc.) – to keep the core and containment from overheating in the event of a design-basis accident, such as a main coolant-pipe break.  This significantly reduces dependency on machinery and need for AC/DC power.

These features provide:

• Water tanks inside and on top of the containment building provide enough water to keep the reactor in a safe condition – through gravity, natural circulation and evaporative cooling.
• Air cooling also is provided by a chimney effect with hot air flowing out of the top of the shield building.

Pressurized-Water Reactors

All of Plant Vogtle’s units are pressurized-water reactors (PWRs). Click here to see an overview of how they work.

In a nutshell, the fission in the nuclear reactor creates heat, which turns water into steam, which then turns turbines that produce energy.  The steam then goes through a condenser where it is cooled back into water and recirculated in the steam generator.

A note about cooling towers, the most iconic and visible structures in a nuclear plant: the clouds coming from the towers are clean water vapor.

Cool water flows through pipes that pass through the condensers, helping turn the steam back into liquid that is recirculated to the steam generator. After passing through the condenser, the now-heated water flows to the cooling towers where is is released as a spray. As the water falls, some of it evaporates and heats the surrounding air, which rises and turns into vapor as it exits the top of the tower.

Uranium Fuel

The Vogtle units utilize uranium pellets for fuel. Each pellet has as much energy as 149 gallons of oil or 1 ton of coal. A nuclear reactor can hold more than 13 million pellets!

Refueling the Core

Vogtle operators conduct refueling of the reactors every 18 months. They add new fuel and remove used fuel. Technicians also take advantage of the time to check, repair and replace systems as needed.

The spent fuel is stored in a holding pool before it eventually is transferred into dry cask storage units. These units are stored on site and ensure safe storage of the spent fuel for the life of the plant.

With the Vogtle expansion project complete, the co-owners, including MEAG Power, hosted a celebration to mark the historic achievement.

More than 500 people attended the main celebratory event at the plant Vogtle site, in the shadows of the cooling towers. Speakers included Gov. Brian Kemp, PSC Commissioners and Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene among others.

Gov. Kemp noted that “This is history being made right before our very eyes. Vogtle 3 and 4 doesn’t just represent an incredible economic asset for our state and a milestone for our entire country, they also stand as physical examples of something that I remind myself of every day: Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”