Vogtle 4 containment vessel bottom in place
The 900 tonne containment vessel bottom head for Vogtle unit 4 has been lowered into place, marking a major milestone for the Georgia construction project.The 900 tonne containment vessel bottom head for Vogtle unit 4 has been lowered into place, marking a major milestone for the Georgia construction project.
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| Vogtle 4's containment vessel bottom head is hoisted into place (Image: Georgia Power) |
The massive component is nearly 40m wide and 12m tall, and was fabricated on site from dozens of individual steel plates by project contractor CB&I. The operation to lift it into place using one of the world's largest cranes took approximately four hours to complete.
Vogtle 4 is the second of two AP1000 reactors being built alongside two existing pressurised water reactors at the site near Waynesboro, and has been under construction since November 2013. Work began on unit 3 in March 2013, and lessons learned from that project are contributing to increased efficiency in the construction of unit 4, according to 47.5%-owner Georgia Power.
Vogtle 3 is currently anticipated to enter commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2017, with unit 4 following in the fourth quarter of 2018, at which time Vogtle will become the USA's only four-unit nuclear power plant site.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
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