September Refueling Outage at 1,160MW Nuclear Plant in Georgia

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Incorporated; Houston, Texas). A 30-day refueling outage is scheduled at the end of this September on Unit 1 at the Alvin W Vogtle Nuclear Station. The plant is situated on 3,140 acres, in Burke County, about 24 miles away from the nearest city of Waynesboro, Georgia on the west bank of the Savannah River. The power station includes two 1,160 megawatt (MW) Westinghouse pressurized water reactor (PWR), plus two General Electric turbine generators. Unit 1 began commercial operations in 1987 and unit 2 in 1989.

The pressurized water reactor is the most common type of reactor. It uses ordinary water as both coolant and neutron moderator. The design is characterized by having a primary cooling circuit, which flows through the core of the reactor under very high pressure, and a secondary circuit in which steam is caused to drive the turbine.

Planning is critical in preparation for a refueling outage at a nuclear generating station. Generally, the exact work scope is defined six months or more prior to the outage. During the outage, the reactor vessel head will be inspected for corrosion, steam generator cleaning, auxiliary equipment upgraded and repaired, plus other maintenance tasks.

The Vogtle plant is named after Alvin W. Vogtle Jr., retired chairman of the board of Southern Company, the parent firm of Georgia Power Company. The plant was named Hancock Landing, but it was renamed to Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant when construction started in the summer of 1974. Construction was halted only 3 months after the site had only been excavated as Georgia Power was having serious financial problems at the time. The company later joined with the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, and the City of Dalton to complete the plant. The original plans were to have four units at the plant, but due to financial reasons, only two were built.

Georgia Power Company acts as the operator of the plant. It is the largest (45.7%) of the five electric utilities that make up Southern Company. Georgia Power is a public utility engaged in the distribution, generation and sale of electricity. Oglethorpe Power Corporation (30%) is one of Georgia's largest privately owned corporations. Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (22.7%) offers a diverse range of services including electricity, natural gas and more. The City of Dalton owns the remaining 1.6 percent.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) is one of the leading U.S producers of electricity. The company owns electric utilities in four states, with nearly 39,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Southeast.