Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, located in Waynesboro, Georgia in Burke County, represent the most recently completed nuclear power plant construction project in the United States. The two AP1000 reactors built by Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, entered commercial operation in 2023 and 2024 respectively after a construction program that faced significant cost overruns and schedule delays.
The units are now in their operating phase, providing a combined nameplate capacity of approximately 2,234 megawatts of carbon-free baseload electricity to Georgia Power customers and the regional grid. Georgia Power, the regulated utility that owns a majority interest in the Vogtle project, is working through rate proceedings before the Georgia Public Service Commission to recover the construction costs through customer rates over time.
Plant Vogtle's performance data is closely watched by the nuclear industry as a reference point for US nuclear operations. The AP1000 reactor design, developed by Westinghouse, incorporates passive safety features designed to allow the reactor to achieve safe shutdown without operator action or external power in an emergency. The Vogtle units are the first AP1000 reactors to operate in the United States.
Southern Nuclear employs a significant workforce at the Vogtle site in Burke County, supporting operations across both units. The plant contributes substantially to local economic activity in the Waynesboro area and provides reliable employment in a rural Georgia community that has hosted nuclear power generation for decades.
Source: Southern Nuclear -- https://www.southernnuclear.com/our-plants/plant-vogtle