In The News

ATLANTA — MEAG Power announced Friday it has closed on $414.7 million in additional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy to go toward the energy collective’s share of the construction of nuclear Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro.

At the same time, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Gov. Brian Kemp, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey joined Southern Company Chairman President and CEO Tom Fanning and Paul Bowers, Georgia Power’s chairman and president and CEO, and hundreds of workers and special guests at the nuclear expansion project to announce the closing of approximately $1.67 billion in additional DOE loan guarantees for Georgia Power’s share of the project.

The co-owners in the Vogtle expansion project are MEAG Power, 22.7 percent; Georgia Power, 45.7 percent; Oglethorpe Power, 30 percent; and Dalton Utilities, 1.6 percent. Georgia Public Service Commissioners Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Tim Echols, Chuck Eaton, Tricia Pridemore and Jason Shaw were also at the event along with U.S. Reps. Rick Allen and Buddy Carter, and Oglethorpe Power President and CEO Mike Smith, MEAG Power President and CEO Jim Fuller and Dalton Utilities CEO Tom Bundros.

“The Vogtle project is critically important to supporting the administration’s direction to revitalize and expand the U.S. nuclear industry,” Perry said. “A strong nuclear industry supports a reliable and resilient grid and strengthens our energy and national security. As I’ve witnessed firsthand today, Vogtle is also an energy infrastructure project with a massive scope employing thousands of workers.

“This project is rebuilding a highly skilled U.S. nuclear work force and supply chain for the future.”

Georgia Power had previously secured loan guarantees of $3.46 billion for the construction of the new units, the first to be built in the United States in more than 30 years. Perry was able to witness one of the most important milestones for the project to date — the placement of the top of the containment vessel for Unit 3, signifying that all modules and large components have been placed inside the unit.

“Since the project began, we have committed to minimize the impact these new units will have on customers’ bills, and securing these loans plays a key role by reducing our financing costs and passing along those benefits to our customers,” Bowers said. “We thank the administration, DOE, Secretary Rick Perry and members of Congress for their continued support of the Vogtle 3 & 4 project.

“We have made significant progress since taking over construction at the site and expect that momentum to continue this year. Placement of the Unit 3 top head is a historic milestone for the project, reflecting the hard work and dedication of the Vogtle 3 & 4 team as we transition these units closer to operation.”

Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4 consist of two 1,100-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors being constructed in Burke County. The containment vessel is a high-integrity steel structure that houses critical plant components.

The top head is 130 feet in diameter, 37 feet tall and weighs nearly 1.5 million pounds. It comprises 58 large plates, welded together, each more than an inch-and-a-half thick.

“This is an important day for the construction and financing of Vogtle Units 3 & 4,” MEAG Power’s Fuller said. “We thank Secretary Perry for his presence at the site, and the commitment of the federal government in recognizing the value and importance of this project.”

Georgia Power officials said that with more than 7,000 workers currently onsite and more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operating, Vogtle 3 & 4 is currently the largest jobs-producing construction project in the state of Georgia. Recruiting efforts continue to attract additional craft workers to the Vogtle 3 & 4 project, with more than 700 pipefitters, electricians and other craft labor joining the project since Nov. 1.

“This additional loan guarantee translates to lower risk and cost savings for MEAG Power’s member communities and offtakers,” MEAG Power Senior Vice President and CFO Edward Easterlin said. “It provides a great addition to the low-cost financing portfolio that we have worked diligently to achieve.”

Progress continues at the site, with the project now approximately 75 percent complete. More than 23,000 cubic yards of concrete were placed in 2018, the Unit 4 pressurizer was placed inside the containment vessel in February, the integrated head package was set inside the Unit 3 containment vessel in late January and progress also continues on the Unit 3 shield building with additional double-decker panels placed in January.

“The progress we are marking today is a direct result of the tremendous support the project has received,” Fanning said. “From the very beginning, public and private partners have stood with us as we endeavor to build the first new nuclear development in the U.S. in a generation.

“Everyone involved in the project remains focused on sustaining our momentum and is poised to execute on the important work to come in the days ahead.”