Georgia Power announced the latest milestones at the Vogtle nuclear expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia – the placement of the first of four reactor coolant pumps. The 375,000-pound pump was recently placed in the Unit 3 containment vessel where the nuclear components are housed.

The reactor coolant pumps will be mounted to the steam generator and serve a critical part of the reactor coolant system, circulating water from the steam generator to the reactor vessel, allowing sufficient heat transfer for safe plant operation.  

Other recent milestones include a placement of shield building panels around the outside of Unit 3 containment. The shield building is made of steel and concrete in what is known as a steel composite design that is approximately 150 feet high and three feet thick. 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. With the latest placement, nearly half of the shield building panels have been placed for Unit 3. In addition, the final floor module for the operating deck inside of containment was set. The module is part of the steel floor that sits above the in-containment refueling water storage tank.

Unit 4 continues to progress with a concrete placement inside the containment vessel lasting more than 60 hours. More than 2,000 cubic yards of concrete were placed – an amount equal to 200 cement truckloads. The concrete placement supports the upcoming installation of the final steam generator and pressurizer.

With more than 7,000 construction workers on-site today, and more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operating, Vogtle 3 & 4 is the largest jobs-producing construction project in the state of Georgia.