The safety-related concrete basemat has been poured for the nuclear island of the Vogtle 4 AP1000 nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Georgia.
The placement of around 7000 cubic yards of concrete was completed in less than 41 hours, Georgia Power announced, 21 November. It covered an area approximately 250 feet long and 160 feet wide at its widest point, and the concrete measured six feet in thickness.
Approximately 600 workers participated in the concrete pour as part of a coordinated effort between Georgia Power, Southern Nuclear, Westinghouse and CB&I.
The milestone comes two and a half weeks after first concrete was poured for unit 3 of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina.
Georgia Power, said that the containment vessel bottom head (CVBH) and supporting CR10 cradle have also been complete completed and will be placed on the unit 4 nuclear island "following concrete curing."
In parallel, the Unit 4 turbine building foundation has been completed and the wall sections are currently being placed.
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is overseeing construction and will operate the two new 1100-megawatt AP1000 units for Georgia Power (45.7% owner) and co-owners Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.
When complete, Plant Vogtle will be the only four unit nuclear facility in the USA, Georgia Power said.
Georgia Power successfully placed the basemat structural concrete for the nuclear island at the Vogtle Unit 4 nuclear expansion site near Waynesboro, Georgia on 21 November (PRNewsFoto/Georgia Power Co.).
