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RPV In Place At Vogtle-4 AP1000, Says Georgia Power

By David Dalton
30 March 2018

RPV In Place At Vogtle-4 AP1000, Says Georgia Power
The RPV is lifted into place at Vogtle-4. Photo courtesy Georgia Power.

30 Mar (NucNet): Georgia Power has placed the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) inside the Unit 4 containment at the Vogtle nuclear expansion project in the US state of Georgia.

The 300-tonne vessel was fabricated by Doosan Heavy Industries in South Korea, shipped through the Port of Savannah and arrived at the construction site via train on a specialised rail car.

Georgia Power said the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 plants is being completed using components and materials from across the US, as well as via an international supply chain.

The placement of the RPV is the latest milestone at the Vogtle site. Earlier this month, Georgia Power announced the placement of concrete for the Unit 4 “turbine tabletop.” The company recently filed a report with the Georgia Public Service Commission highlighting additional progress at the site until the end of 2017.

The report noted improved productivity with direct construction work ahead of the schedule to have Vogtle-3 in commercial operation in November 2021 and Vogtle-4 in November 2022.

The two AP1000 units will be the nation’s first new nuclear units in 30 years. The new units are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities and are the only new nuclear units under construction in the US.

In December 2017 the Public Service Commission approved Georgia Power’s plans to complete the Vogtle-3 and -4 nuclear units. Their future had been under threat because of cost overruns and the bankruptcy in the US of reactor supplier Westinghouse.

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