Westinghouse Electric Company has announced the completion of two construction milestones at the US Vogtle NPP site where two AP1000 reactor units are being built for Georgia Power. The unit 3 reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and unit 4 CA01 module have now been moved into place, Westinghouse said on 1 December. Following placement of the 278t unit 3 RPV, which will house the reactor core and associated components including the reactor vessel internals, workers will begin the next phase of the project, marking a move from civil engineering and construction to assembly of the unit’s reactor system. Workers will begin to place bulk commodities such as piping, pumps and cabling throughout the unit 3 reactor system.
Preparations will also begin for the installation of the first steam generator in unit 3 next year. The 907t CA01 module for unit 4 will house a number of major components in containment, including the reactor vessel, steam generators and pressuriser. The module was assembled onsite at the project’s 12-storey module assembly building. Two additional AP1000 units are under construction at the Summer NPP site in South Carolina for South Carolina Electric and Gas Company. Westinghouse said it also is nearing completion of the world’s first four AP1000 units at China’s Sanmen and Haiyang sites, with commissioning tests underway for the lead unit at each site.
