10 Aug (NucNet): Southern Nuclear has made significant progress on construction of the Vogtle-3 and -4 nuclear power plants since assuming project management on behalf of the co-owners, but the capital and construction cost forecast for its share of the project has increased from $7.3bn to $8.4bn, Georgia Power said on 9 August 2018.
The co-owners of the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactor units are Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities. Southern Nuclear, which operates nuclear plants for Georgia Power, took over project management from Westinghouse following its bankruptcy in 2017.
The new nuclear units are the first to be built in the US in a generation and the only new units currently under construction in the country.
Georgia Power said Vogtle-3 is expected to begin commercial operation in November 2021 and Vogtle-4 in November 2022.
More than 7,000 workers are onsite working to complete the new units, Georgia Power said.
Milestones over the past 60 days alone have included a major concrete placement lasting more than eight hours inside the Unit 3 shield building and the placement of a 23,000-kg piping module for Unit 4.
Southern Company, the parent company of both Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear, will absorb the $1.1bn in additional costs. The increased costs are the result of incentives to attract and retain staff, and increased field supervision and engineering oversight, Georgia Power said.
The costs include $700m in additional subcontractor costs and an additional construction contingency estimate for the two units, a statement said.
