Inside NIRMA Spring 2020 FINAL

Georgia Power Orders First Fuel
Load for Vogtle Unit 3
G
eorgia Power has ordered
the first nuclear fuel load
for Vogtle Unit 3, the first
nuclear fuel order to be
placed in more than 30 years for a
newly-designed reactor in the U.S.
The fuel order marks another
significant milestone at the Vogtle
nuclear expansion near Waynesboro,
Georgia.
Consisting of 157 fuel assemblies
with each measuring 14 feet tall, the
fuel will eventually be loaded into
the Unit 3 reactor vessel to support
startup once the reactor begins
operating. After this initial fueling,
approximately one third of the total
fuel assemblies will be replaced
during each refueling outage after
the units begin operating, similar to
the process used at existing Vogtle
units 1 and 2.
The fuel order for Vogtle Unit 3
comes just months after the
placement of the containment vessel
top, which was witnessed by U.S.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry,
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp,
Plant Vogtle Unit 4 (Image: Georgia Power Company)
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny
Perdue, North America's Building
Trades Unions President Sean
McGarvey, members of Congress
and all five members of the Georgia
Public Service Commission,
signifying that all modules and large
components have been placed inside
the unit.
In addition, the placement of
three low-pressure turbine rotors
and the generator rotor inside the
Unit 3 turbine building have also
been completed. The turbine rotors,
weighing approximately 200 tons
each and rotating at 1,800
revolutions per minute, will pass
steam through the turbine blades to
power the generator and supply
electricity to the grid. The highpressure
turbine rotor will be
installed in the coming weeks.
Plant Vogtle Unit 3 Containment Vessel (Image: Georgia Power Company)
4 Spring 2020 NIRMA.org Inside NIRMA