Georgia Power announced the latest milestone at the Vogtle nuclear expansion – the placement of additional shield building panels for Unit 3 on Dec. 4. The shield building provides structural support to the containment cooling water supply and protects the containment vessel, which houses the reactor vessel and associated equipment. The shield building is made of steel and concrete in what is known as a steel composite design that is about 150 feet high and about three feet thick. With this week's placement, nearly 80 of the 336 total shield building panels have been placed for Units 3 and 4.

Construction has continued uninterrupted at the Vogtle site following Westinghouse's bankruptcy in March with all Vogtle co-owners (Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities) working together to maintain the project's momentum. Southern Nuclear, the nuclear operating subsidiary which operates the existing units in Georgia, is now the project manager at the site with global construction firm Bechtel managing daily construction efforts.   

Click here to view a video of a 28,000-pound shield building panel being lifted into place for Vogtle Unit 3. In addition to new videos posted regularly on the Georgia Power YouTube Channel, follow the progress from the site with new photos added each month in the Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 Online Photo Gallery.