Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear, the companies building the Vogtle-3 and -4 Generation III Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear plants, recently said schedules for pre-commissioning tests had been revised because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Georgia Power said it was aiming to begin hot functional testing in January, but this could start as late as the end of March 2021 and fuel load could occur as late as mid-year 2021. This would still to allow the site to meet the regulatory-approved in-service date for Unit 3 of November 2021. Cold functional testing was completed earlier this month.
“Georgia Power continues to expect to meet its commitment to achieve the regulatory-approved in-service dates for both Units (November 2021 for Unit 3 and November 2022 for Unit 4),” a statement said.
Georgia Power said recently that the project is about 94% complete for Unit 3 with the total Vogtle-3 and -4 project approximately 88% complete.
The two plants are the only two commercial reactor units under construction in the US.
