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Georgia Power is making significant progress with the second of two additional nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle even as the first of the new reactors prepares to go into commercial operation. The Atlanta-based utility announced Monday the completion of hot functional testing for Unit 4 at the plant south of Augusta. Unit 4 is projected to begin operations late this year or early in 2024. “The energy and enthusiasm at the Vogtle site, and across our entire company, is high with Unit 3 in the final stages of startup testing and Unit 4 making progress towards safely loading...

The first of two new nuclear reactors at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle is generating electricity for the first time, the Atlanta-based utility announced during the weekend. Unit 3 at the plant south of Augusta has successfully synchronized and connected to the electric grid, putting the reactor on a path toward going into full commercial operation in May or June. “What an incredibly inspiring time to join Georgia Power as we celebrate this milestone that marks the first day of generating clean, reliable power at this new nuclear unit, which will serve our customers over the next 60 to 80 years,”...

On Monday, Georgia Power announced that the Vogtle nuclear reactor Unit 3 has started a nuclear reaction inside the nuclear reactor. Technically, this is called “initial criticality” and is when the nuclear fission process has started splitting atoms, generating heat. Vogtle’s Unit 3 reactor will be fully in service in May or June, Georgia Power said. The last time a nuclear reactor reached the same milestone was almost seven years ago when the Tennessee Valley Authority started splitting atoms at the Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor in Tennessee, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “This is a truly exciting time...

SCE&G parent Scana Corporation Public Service Commission of South Carolina. Westinghouse had publicly stated the additional costs associated with completing AP1000 projects at Summer and Vogtle, above what it could contractually require the project owners to pay, is about $4 billion… Four addytional AP1000 units are under construction in China - two each at Sanmen and Haiyang - are not expected to be affected by the bankruptcy filing which only applies to Westinghouse's US operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved licenses to build two new nuclear reactors Thursday

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to approve licenses to build two new nuclear reactors Thursday, the first approvals in over 30 years. The reactors are being built in Georgia by a consortium of utilities led by Southern Co. They will be sited at the Vogtle nuclear power plant complex, about 170 miles east of Atlanta. The plant already houses two older reactors. Spokespeople for Southern Co. and the NRC were quiet on the matter Wednesday ahead of the vote set for Thursday at 12 PM ET. If approved, NRC staff would likely issue a construction and operating license...