New Nuclear Facility Opens Near Waynesboro, Georgia

WAYNESBORO, Ga. — Plant Vogtle Unit 4, a nuclear power project that backers describe as one of the “largest clean energy projects in the nation” has begun commercial operation near Waynesboro, Georgia, a bucolic town about 30 miles south of Augusta.

The unit’s entry into commercial service on Monday was announced by Oglethorpe Power, which holds a 30% stake in the project on behalf of the 38 Georgia electric cooperatives it serves.

It was part of a major expansion project at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, whose first two nuclear reactors went online in the late 1980s.

Units 1 and 2, which were completed, respectively, in 1987 and 1989 are Westinghouse pressurized water reactors with a combined electricity generation capacity of 2,430 MW.

Units 3 and 4 have been under construction since 2009, with Unit 3 having been completed in July 2023. When it began commercial operation at the end of that month, it was the first new nuclear reactor to do so in the United States in seven years.

Unit 4 reached criticality — the point at which the nuclear chain reaction within the reactor is self-sustaining — on Valentine’s Day of this year. It was connected to the grid on March 1.

With the addition of Unit 4, Oglethorpe Power said, electric cooperative consumers across Georgia will benefit from reliable, emission-free nuclear energy for the next 60 to 80 years.

To say the high-profile project was not without its difficulties is something of an understatement.

Dramatic cost overruns, mostly related to the new approach to building nuclear power plants that was deployed at the site, forced the Westinghouse Electric Co. to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2017.

The approach the company had taken included building prefabricated sections of the plants off site, at a factory in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and then shipping them to the active project site for final assembly. 

The idea was that this kind of operation — not unlike the global strategy Boeing is employing to build its 787 passenger jet — would make building nuclear plants safer, cheaper and theoretically, more common.

But setbacks were commonplace. Some parts were reportedly incorrectly made and others were damaged during assembly. In one instance, reported by Bloomberg, about half the backfill that was supposed to fill the area excavated for the new units, failed to get regulatory approval.

And these weren’t the only regulatory snafus. In 2009, about seven years after Westinghouse had applied for approval of its design for the new reactors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission demanded changes to the so-called “shield building,” the protective sheath that protects the site workers and the general public against radiation leaks.

Under the new rules, the shield would have to be strengthened to withstand the kind of crash by a commercial jet that took down the Twin Towers during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Westinghouse complied, but then was asked by regulators whether the new design would withstand earthquakes or tornadoes, neither of which is uncommon in Georgia.

It was little wonder then that Mike Smith, president and CEO of Oglethorpe Power, said on Monday, “The completion of the Vogtle expansion project signifies the culmination of a remarkable journey filled with dedication, perseverance and a commitment to a cleaner energy future for Georgians.” 

“We celebrate not only the completion of this important emission-free resource but also the historic achievement it represents as the first advanced commercial nuclear project in the nation in more than three decades,” Smith continued in a written statement distributed by the utility.

He added: “Oglethorpe Power and our members are committed to navigating the transition to cleaner energy while ensuring electricity remains reliable and affordable for electric cooperative consumers. The emission-free energy generated by Unit 4 will play a crucial role in helping us deliver on that mission for generations to come.”

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., also applauded Unit 4’s entering into commercial operation, calling it “a significant milestone’ in Georgia’s clean energy future.”

“With Unit 4 now at 100% capacity and fully operational, Plant Vogtle is officially the largest nuclear power station in the country — providing safe, reliable, emission-free energy to consumers and businesses across the Peach State and beyond,” he said.

Allen, who visited the site on numerous occasions and at various stages of construction, went on to say that seeing the project come to fruition is “nothing short of remarkable.”

“This historic achievement has been years in the making and proves that America can still do big things,” he said.

For all of its challenges, the Vogtle expansion project was a major win for Georgia in terms of jobs creation.

At its peak, nearly 10,000 skilled craft workers were onsite and 800 permanent new jobs will manage operations of both new units.

Now that it is online, Unit 4 will generate emission-free electricity at full power 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

“As we strive to meet our members’ existing and expanding power supply needs, clean nuclear energy will remain an essential source of dependable baseload power and a vital part of our energy mix for decades to come,” Smith said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue