Vogtle News

On Aug. 3, Vogtle Unit 3 achieved a major milestone: receipt of the 103(g) finding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This finding was confirmed in an official letter received by Southern Nuclear and signifies that the new unit has been constructed and will be operated in conformance with the Combined License and NRC regulations. No further NRC findings are necessary in order for Southern Nuclear to load fuel or begin the startup sequence for the new unit.

The team at the site continues working diligently to make final preparations for Unit 3 fuel load, initiate startup testing and bring the unit online. Over the next several weeks, well-trained and highly qualified nuclear technicians will continue work required to support loading fuel – which is already onsite, in the unit’s spent fuel pool – into the unit’s reactor.

This will be followed by several months of startup testing and operations. Startup testing is designed to demonstrate the integrated operation of the primary coolant system and steam supply system at design temperature and pressure with fuel inside the reactor. Operators will also bring the plant from cold shutdown to initial criticality, synchronize the Unit to the grid and systematically raise power to 100%. Unit 3 is slated to begin commercial operation by March 31, 2023.

Work continues on Unit 4, which is slated to enter commercial service by the end of 2023. Recent activity has focused on open-vessel testing, which is now complete. The majority of the remaining work comprises electrical construction: conduit, cables and terminations, with a focus on completing cable terminations.

Electrical craft levels and earned hours have improved, and the next significant milestone to be achieved is cold hydrostatic testing.