pwr_july-2024 - 16

PLANT OF THE YEAR
project to customers and their power
bills. The first example of this effort was
negotiating essentially a firm-price contract
for the units.
" Under this contract, the company
only paid for completed engineering,
procurement, or construction milestones,
thereby protecting customers
from potential cost increases during the
initial
stages, " Abramovitz explained.
3. Vogtle Unit 3's turbine generator is shown here. A focus on safety was important when
installing this massive equipment. Courtesy: Georgia Power Company
record was well below the OSHA [Occupational
Safety and Health Administration]
heavy construction industry recordable incident
rate averages, and there were no
fatalities during the construction. "
Environmental Stewardship
Georgia Power's first president, Preston
Arkwright, reportedly coined the phrase:
" A Citizen wherever we serve. " The company
said this statement underscores its
commitment to making the communities
it is privileged to serve, better because
Georgia Power is there. " That commitment
permeates every part of our business,
including our generation facilities, "
Abramovitz noted.
The Plant Vogtle site is located adjacent
to the Savannah River, which
provides access to fresh water (Figure
4) and an environment that is home to
many species of flora and fauna. Since
1993, Plant Vogtle has been recognized
as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the
Wildlife Habitat Council. The site is situated
on approximately 3,000 acres, with
hundreds of those acres replanted with
native loblolly and longleaf pines.
" Every day, across our facilities, we
work to minimize the impact of our
operations on the environment and
protect our state's natural resources, "
said Abramovitz. Among its proactive
measures, Plant Vogtle has management
programs that enhance the habitat
for species such as bluebirds, wood
ducks, wild turkey, and the endangered
red-cockaded woodpecker. " One particular
example we're proud of is our
continued partnership with the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be part
of the Gopher Tortoise Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances
(CCAA) program, " Abramovitz said.
A Focus on Customers
From the beginning, Georgia Power
said the Vogtle 3 and 4 co-owners have
worked to minimize the impact of the
" The EPC agreement also included a
performance guarantee from Toshiba-
Westinghouse's parent company-
which the company and co-owners
called upon following Westinghouse's
bankruptcy in 2017. "
To further mitigate costs for customers,
Georgia Power proactively pursued
federal incentives, such as production
tax credits (PTCs), which were introduced
in the 2005 Energy Act and extended
in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act. " PTCs are expected to lower operations
costs, saving our co-owners'
members and Georgia Power customers
several billions of dollars over the
first
eight years of operations, " said
Abramovitz. The project also pursued
and secured nearly $12 billion in loan
guarantees from the U.S. Department
of Energy, which is estimated to save
customers across Georgia hundreds of
millions of dollars in financing costs.
Having a strong contract from the outset
also benefited the co-owners and
their customers. " The capital construction
costs for all co-owners was approximately
$21 billion, net of nearly $4 billion
the co-owners received from the Toshiba
Parent Guarantee following the bankruptcy
of Westinghouse, " Abramovitz reported.
" This represents the total capital
cost to the owners to build the two new
AP1000 units and the common facilities
which support them both. "
AP1000 a Solid Design Choice
Georgia Power evaluated various nuclear
reactor plant technologies for the
Vogtle expansion project. Designs considered
included the AP1000, ESBWR,
General
Electric's Advanced Boiling
Water Reactor (ABWR), and AREVA's
Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR). An
interdisciplinary group within Georgia
Power and Southern Company conducted
a technical evaluation that considered
the then-current state of design
and engineering, and regulatory approvals
of the various technologies.
The group ultimately concluded that
4. Plant Vogtle is located adjacent to the Savannah River. The river water intake structure for
Units 3 and 4 is shown here. Courtesy: Georgia Power Company
16
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the AP1000 was the preferred choice.
Several factors led to the selection. One
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