Georgia Power has increased spending on studies of potential new nuclear plant sites, including renewed attention to a property in Stewart County near the Alabama border, according to filings with the Georgia Public Service Commission. Company officials say no new reactor project is currently planned, but the filings show the utility has spent an average of $87,000 a month over roughly 13 months on siting studies and related evaluations.
The disclosures came in response to a request from PSC technical staff for more detail on the company's spending, which also covers new fossil-fuel generation. Much of the specific site information for Stewart County, first studied and then dropped by Georgia Power in 2017, has been redacted from the public filing.
Georgia Power spokesperson Jacob Hawkins said the company has no plans to pursue new nuclear construction at this time, and Southern Company chairman and chief executive Chris Womack told analysts in July that Southern will not be the next utility to build a new reactor. The company's next long-term resource plan is due in early 2028, when any future nuclear proposal would likely first surface.
Georgia Power operates two nuclear plants, Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro and Plant Hatch near Baxley. Plant Vogtle's two newest reactors, completed in 2023 and 2024, made Georgia Power the only U.S. utility to build new reactors from scratch in decades. Any new nuclear project would require financing, contractor selection, and state and federal approvals, a process company officials say could take more than a decade before construction even begins.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/09/georgia-power-studying-new-nuclear-sites-including-near-alabama-border/