Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
The Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, also known as Plant Vogtle, is a 2-unit nuclear power plant located in Burke County, near Waynesboro, Georgia in the southeastern United States. It is named after the Alabama Power and Southern Company board chairman, Alvin Vogtle.
Each unit has a Westinghouse pressurized water reactor (PWR), with a General Electric turbine and electric generator. Units 1 and 2 were completed in 1987 and 1989, respectively. Each unit is capable of producing approximately 1,200 MW of electricity when online, for a combined capacity of 2,400 MW. Southern Nuclear lists the capacity as 1,215 MW each, for a combined output of 2,430 MW. The twin natural-draft cooling towers are 548 ft (167 m) tall and provide cooling to the plant's main condensers. Four smaller mechanical draft cooling towers provide service water cooling to auxiliary safety and non safety components and remove the decay heat from the reactor when the plant is offline. One natural-draft tower and two service water towers serve each unit.
During Vogtle's construction, capital investment required jumped from an estimated $660 million to $8.87 billion. This huge increase was typical of the time, due to new regulations mandating increased safety precautions and more robust designs, after the Three Mile Island xenon release incident.
In 2009, the NRC renewed the licenses for both units for an additional 20 years, to the 2040s. Groundwork for two additional AP1000 reactors is underway.
Read more about Vogtle Electric Generating Plant: Surrounding Population, Power Uprate, Site Area Emergency, Units 3 and 4, Reactor Data
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