Steam Generator Latest Major Delivery to Plant Vogtle Nuke Construction Site
Insulators International Staff — Mon, Jun 15, 2015 @ 12:06 PM
Steam generator "A" was made in South Korea , shipped to the Port of Savannah and transported to Vogtle by train, according to Georgia Power Co. A similar component -- steam generator "B" -- arrived in March, and both will operate Unit 3 by converting water into steam using the heat produced in the nuclear reactor core.
Georgia Power and other utilities are building the first two new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in three decades. Equipment deliveries for the project, which faces several years of delays and cost overruns, continue to arrive from across the world.
Georgia Power executives testified before the state's Public Service Commission last week that the project is about 14 percent over budget. So far, the company has spent a total of $2.96 billion on construction and is asking the commission to approve the $169 million spent in the second half of last year.
The utility acknowledged earlier this year that the reactors won't begin producing power until the second quarters of 2019 and 2020. Plant Vogtle will be the only four-unit nuclear facility in the U.S. when the units enter service.
In mid-May, Unit 4 received a 225,000-pound pressurizer made in Italy , Georgia Power said. It was also delivered by railcar from the Port of Savannah . The pressurizer for Unit 3 arrived in August.
Vogtle has also completed major milestones on the switchyard that transmits energy from the plant to the power grid that serves Georgia Power customers. A 500-kilovolt switchyard for Units 1 and 2 was redesigned to add four new breakers, switches and other components.
"The work, completed with no interruption of power distribution, will help ensure seamless integration of the new units into the overall Plant Vogtle system," the company said.
Other transmission infrastructure for Unit 4 has also been completed including rerouting of lines, reconfiguration of an existing switchyard and commissioning of a new switching station.
The Unit 4 cooling tower has reached more than 100 feet toward its final height of 600 feet. The completed Unit 3 tower has joined the cooling towers for the initial reactors seen in the skyline near the site.