PLANT VOGTLE
LEADING NUCLEAR ENERGY INTO THE FUTURE
The first U.S. reactor to go on line in 30 years
Plant Vogtle’s existing
nuclear reactors
currently in operation
A
A
OPERATION TIMELINE
Alvin W. Vogtle (1918 - 1994)
'04
He graduated from Auburn University
in 1939. A fighter pilot in World War II,
he was shot down and spent three
years in Nazi prison camps, succeeding during a sixth escape attempt in
1945. His story inspired the character
played by Steve McQueen in the
movie The Great Escape. Vogtle
became president and board chairman of Southern Co., which named
the nuclear plant in his honor.
'05
'06
B
AP1000 REACTOR
'08
B
Cost efficient design and safety features
Designed to reduce capital costs and to be economically competitive with contemporary fossil-fueled plants, the AP1000 uses
modular construction incorporating a computer-based control
system. This allows optimization of the construction process, with
high confidence in the construction schedule.
The AP1000 plant arrangement separates
safety-related and non-safety related systems
with these principal structures,
each on its own base mat:
Nuclear Island (the only Seismic
Category I structure), Turbine
Building, Annex Building, Diesel
Generator Building and
Passive
Radwaste Building.
containment
In the event of an accident, the
cooling
passive safety system is designed
Steel
water tank
to shut down without operator
containment
action and without power or
pumps, using gravity, natural
circulation and compressed gases
Pressurizer
NUCLEAR
to keep the core and containment
ISLAND
from overheating.
'09
B
THE PLANT
VOGTLE
SITE
TURBINE
BUILDING
Turbine
generator
Feedwater
pumps
A
Reactors
1 and 2
A
'11
2011 - Expects to receive approval of Combined Operating License (COL) from the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
'13
'15
'16
'17
2013 - First Operating license class begins
2015 - Fuel is loaded for new units
2016 - Unit 3 begins commercial operation
2017 - Unit 4 begins commercial operation
New
construction
B
Reactors
3 and 4
Passive
containment
cooling tanks
35%
fewer
safety
grade
pumps
80%
less
pipe
45% less
seismic
building
volume
20
Thomson
223
B
Polar crane
50%
fewer
valves
85% less
cable
Plant
Vogtle
A
Steam
generator
Pressurizer
Reactor
vessel
Steam
generator
25
HOW NUCLEAR
REACTORS WORK
A simplified diagram that shows
how the steam generating process
powers the electric generator.
Containment
structure
Fuel rod
Steam
assembly generator
Waynesboro
A fuel rod assembly contains many pellets
of uranium (A). The fission process in the
reactor (B) generates heat.
The reactors use 264 rods per assembly
Units 1 and 2: 12 foot-long assemblies
Units 3 and 4: 14 foot-long assemblies
A
110º F
Steam line
THE EXISTING REACTOR
Electricity
generated
BY THE NUMBERS
Reactors 3 and 4
1,215 MW per unit
193
4
64 million gallons
67%
18 months
60 years
United States
800 to 850
1,117 MW per unit
157
2 per unit
53.6 million gallons
74.8%
18 months
60 years
Japan, Korea, Italy, U.S.
800 to 850
Water withdrawal*
River water
64 million gallons daily (MGD)
Lost to evaporation
43 MGD
67% (0.75% average river flow)
River water
Lost to evaporation
*Water taken from the Savannah River
Sources: Southern Co., Westinghouse Electric Co., U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Reactors 1 and 2
Steam
condenser
Reactors 3 and 4
53.6 MGD
40.1 MGD
74.8% (0.70% average river flow)
Water withdrawal* for all reactors
117 MGD estimated average
83.1 MGD estimated average
70.7% (1.5% average river flow)
Generator
Pump
24
PROPOSED REACTORS
(AP1000 REACTORS)
Cooling tower
AP1000 HAS FEWER COMPONENTS
Reactors 1 and 2
125
1
Reactor vessel
Simplification of design eliminates components and
reduces maintenance and operating costs.
520
Augusta
80
Steel containment
Megawatt production
Fuel assemblies (per unit)
Steam generators
Daily water consumption*
Water lost to evaporation
Refueling cycle
Design life
Equipment fabrication sites
New permanent jobs
March 2009 - Georgia Power received
certification from the Georgia Public Service
Commission to build new units at the site.
LOCATION
COMPARING NEW TO OLD REACTORS
THE AP1000 REACTOR
April 2008 - Georgia Power entered into an
Engineering, Procurement and Construction
contract with the Westinghouse-Shaw consortium to construct two Westinghouse AP1000
units at the site.
Planned:
Existing
site
DIESEL
GENERATOR
BUILDING
B
March 2008 - Southern Nuclear filed a
Combined Construction and Operating
License (COL) application with the NRC for
the new units.
August 2009 - Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4
received an ESP from the NRC. The Vogtle
ESP is the first in the industry to reference a
specific technology and to come with a Limited
Work Authorization (LWA) which allows limited
safety-related construction at the site before
receiving the COL.
Savannah
River
Reactor
coolant
pumps (4)
ANNEX
BUILDING
August 2006 - Southern Nuclear filed an
Early Site Permit (ESP) for new units at Plant
Vogtle.
July 2009 - Southern Nuclear begins training
operations instructors for Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
Main control
room
Reactor
vessel
January 2006 - Southern Nuclear selected
Westinghouse AP1000 technology for new
units at Plant Vogtle.
May 2009 - Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 were
named NuStart's reference plant for AP1000
technology.
Steam
generators
(2)
Fuel
handling
area
August 2005 - Southern Nuclear announced
that it had selected the Plant Vogtle site to
evaluate for possible new nuclear generation.
April 2009 - Georgia Power provided the
Westinghouse-Shaw consortium full notice to
proceed on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Shaw
and Westinghouse began mobilizing at the
plant site and performing activities to support
construction.
Concrete
shield
building
RADWASTE
BUILDING
March 2004 - Southern Co. became a
founding member of the NuStart Energy
Consortium.
V.C. Summer
(Fairfield County)
Harris
Bellefonte
Water vapors
rising in the
cooling
tower
release
nonradioactive
steam
NC
SC
GA
AL
William
Lee
Plant
Vogtle
120º F
B
Reactor
Pump
Cooling
water
89º F
Collecting basin
Heat produced in the reactor
creates steam in the steam
generator
Levy
County
Steam rotates the turbine
powering the generator, then is
cooled and recycled
Water from the Savannah River is
used to cool the condenser then
cycles through the cooling tower
Each location
proposes the
installation of two
AP1000 nuclear
power reactors
FL
Turkey
Point
STAFF