Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power Co. announced July 21 that documentation has been submitted to show that hundreds of inspections, tests and analyses have been performed and all acceptance criteria have been met for unit 4 of the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant, a key milestone for the new nuclear project plagued by delays.
Submission of documentation for the 364 inspections, tests and analyses and acceptance criteria, collectively known as ITAACs, is a key requirement for Southern Nuclear Operating Co. Inc.'s combined operating license and provides the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) assurance that the unit meets nuclear safety and quality standards, according to the Georgia Power announcement. Each ITAAC closure notice must be verified before fuel load.
Next, the company awaits receipt of the 103(g) finding from the NRC documenting that the license acceptance criteria for unit 4 have been met, which will indicate that the new unit has been constructed and will be operated in conformance with its combined license and NRC regulations, according to the announcement. Once the 103(g) finding arrives, Southern Nuclear is cleared to load fuel and begin the startup sequence for unit 4.
Preparation for unit 4 fuel load and startup is continuing, with all 157 14-foot-tall fuel assemblies delivered to the site and transferred to new fuel storage racks before being placed into the spent fuel pool where they will be stored until they are loaded into the reactor during fuel load.
In June, Georgia Power further delayed the in-service date of Vogtle unit 3, the first of the two new units in the expansion project. During startup and preoperational testing for unit 3, Southern Nuclear discovered a degraded hydrogen seal in the main generator that it has been working to remediate. As a result of that work and remaining preoperational testing, Georgia Power said unit 3's in-service date would be delayed from June to July.
Georgia Power did not elaborate on how the delayed in-service date might impact it financially.
In May, Georgia Power said Vogtle unit 4 was receiving fuel ahead of its expected fuel load as early as July, potentially coinciding with the Georgia Public Service Commission beginning its prudence review for the overall Vogtle expansion project, which will add more than 2,200 MW of nuclear capacity.
Georgia Power owns a 45.7% interest in the Vogtle plant. Other owners are Oglethorpe Power Corp. at about 30%, though it is looking to exercise an option to reduce that share to cut costs; the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia at 22.7%; and the city of Dalton, Ga.'s Dalton Utilities Inc., at 1.6%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Southern Nuclear will operate the new units on behalf of the co-owners.
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