Two years after Georgia Power completed the expansion of Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, the facility has become the reference case for how nuclear power can serve the surging electricity demand of the AI economy, according to a CoStar News analysis of the plant's role in Georgia's grid.
Vogtle's Units 3 and 4, the first newly constructed reactors in the United States in more than three decades, entered commercial operation in 2023 and 2024. Unit 4 alone produces enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses, and the four-unit site now operates with a staff of more than 1,600 people around the clock, making it the largest generator of electricity in the country.
The expansion carried a $36.8 billion price tag, more than double the original estimate, after mechanical setbacks, a contractor bankruptcy and financing disputes pushed completion seven years past schedule. The economics have shifted since then. Georgia has become one of the nation's busiest data center markets, and the state's load forecasts have climbed so sharply that utilities and regulators now discuss additional nuclear capacity as a serious option.
Vogtle's steady carbon-free output gives Georgia Power a foundation for the 9,900 megawatts of new capacity it is adding across the state as AI-driven demand accelerates.
Source: CoStar News - https://www.costar.com/article/1235417679/georgia-plant-shows-nuclear-energys-potential-and-risks-in-meeting-ai-power-demand