Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia continues to supply steady baseload electricity to the state's grid, with its two newest reactors now well into commercial operation. Unit 3 entered service in 2023 and Unit 4 in 2024, making Vogtle the largest nuclear generating site in the United States by capacity. Unit 4 alone can produce enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses.
The plant's output has taken on added importance as Georgia's electricity demand rises, driven in large part by data center construction across the state. Nuclear generation runs around the clock regardless of weather, a profile that pairs well with the constant load of large computing facilities and helps utilities plan for reliability.
The expansion carried a well-documented cost. Completing the two new units ran to roughly $36.8 billion, and the project's history shaped how regulators and Georgia Power approached later rate decisions. State regulators approved a modest residential rate increase tied to the project, and the company reached an agreement with regulatory staff to hold base power rates steady through the end of 2028, though total customer bills can still move with fuel and other costs.
Looking ahead, Georgia Power has outlined plans to add substantial new generation to meet projected demand, including natural gas, battery storage, and some solar, alongside the nuclear capacity Vogtle already provides. Much of that new supply is intended to serve the growing base of energy-intensive facilities locating in the state.
For Georgia's grid, Vogtle represents a large block of firm, carbon-free capacity that will factor into resource planning for decades.
Source: Georgia Power -- https://www.georgiapower.com/about/energy/sources/nuclear.html