Georgia Power marked 50 years of nuclear power generation at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, with all four reactor units now operational following the completion of Units 3 and 4, the first newly constructed nuclear reactors in the United States in more than three decades.
Plant Vogtle is co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities. Units 1 and 2 entered commercial operation in 1987 and 1989, respectively. The historic expansion added Units 3 and 4, which entered commercial operation on July 31, 2023, and April 29, 2024. Together, all four units have the generating capacity to power approximately one million homes and businesses across Georgia.
More than 1,700 employees, including engineers, control room operators, chemists, electricians, mechanics, security officers, and other specialists, operate the facility continuously.
The completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4 was the largest nuclear construction project in US history in terms of total cost, ultimately running to approximately $35 billion and well over its original schedule. Despite those challenges, the plant has become a reference point in national nuclear policy discussions as the most recently completed large-scale nuclear facility in the country and a proof point for new-build feasibility in the US market.
Plant Vogtle is operated by Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, which manages the Southern Company nuclear fleet. The four units at Vogtle represent a meaningful portion of Georgia's electricity generation and contribute to the state's baseload power reliability.
Source: Georgia Power -- https://www.georgiapower.com/news-hub/press-releases/50-years-clean-reliable-nuclear-energy.html