Vogtle Unit 4 Begins Commercial Operations

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 has entered commercial operations, marking the end of the first new nuclear power construction project in the U.S. in more than three decades.

All four of the plant's nuclear-fired units now are in operation. The plant is operated by Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) on behalf of its subsidiary Georgia Power Company (Atlanta, Georgia) and three other co-owners. Georgia Power owns about 45.7% of Unit 4, which will have about 1,117 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. The utility owns the same percentage of Vogtle Unit 3, which began commercial operations last summer with the same capacity.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project and Plant Databases can click here to read a detailed project report on the unit additions, and click here for a plant profile.

However, the two-unit addition project, which wrapped up with a capital cost of $32 billion, faced cost overruns and construction delays that impeded its progress. For more information, see August 2, 2023, article - Years Late and Over Budget, Vogtle Unit 3 Begins Commercial Operations.

Still, Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, plans to add to its renewable resources. Georgia utility regulators recently approved the company's update to its 2023 integrated resource plan (IRP), with some modification. For more information, see April 24, 2024, article - Georgia Power Gets OK for New Resources to Meet Demand.

"The completion of the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear generation plant to include Unit 3 and now Unit 4 is a hallmark achievement for Southern Company, the state of Georgia and the entire United States," Chris Womack, chief executive officer of Southern Company, said in an April 29 recent press release announcing the milestone.

Another U.S. nuclear-power plant, PG&E Corporation's (NYSE:PCG) (Oakland, California) Diablo Canyon plant in California, had been slated to shut in 2025, but late last year received approval from state regulators to operate through 2030. For more information, see December 18, 2023, article - California Regulators Extend Operations at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant through 2030.

In addition, the Biden administration has pledged to provide PG&E with $1.1 billion to help keep the plant open, after PG&E applied for funding in the initial phase of the Department of Energy's $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program aimed to keep U.S. nuclear power reactors open.

Subscribers to the GMI Database can click here for the Diablo Canyon plant profile.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).