Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia completed its expansion with the opening of two new reactors in 2023 and 2024, making it the first new nuclear construction finished in the United States in approximately 30 years and the country's largest source of carbon-free electricity, according to CoStar News reporting published in January 2026.
The project cost approximately $30 billion when completed, more than double the original estimate, and finished seven years behind its initial schedule. Construction complications included mechanical problems such as vibrating pipes and reactor coolant pump failures, financing disputes with co-investors, and the 2017 bankruptcy of the project's primary contractor, Westinghouse Electric.
Despite the cost and schedule difficulties, the two new Vogtle reactors are now operational and contributing to Georgia Power's generation portfolio. The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia has identified Vogtle as the nation's largest single source of carbon-free energy.
Interest in nuclear energy has increased substantially due to projected power demand growth from large artificial intelligence data center campuses. US data center power demand is forecast to increase 165 percent over the next decade, according to BloombergNEF data cited in the CoStar report. Natural gas is projected to grow fastest among energy sources supplying data centers, with the International Energy Agency estimating a 253 percent increase in natural gas use for data center power between 2025 and 2035.
The Tennessee Valley Authority received a $400 million federal grant in December 2025 to advance small modular reactor deployment at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA has indicated it is evaluating both large-scale and modular reactor options for future capacity additions.
Source: CoStar News -- https://www.costar.com/article/1235417679/georgia-plant-shows-nuclear-energys-potential-and-risks-in-meeting-ai-power-demand