Southern Nuclear

Last updated
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryNuclear plant operator
Founded1990;34 years ago (1990)
Headquarters Birmingham, Alabama, US
Key people
ProductsEnergy generation
Number of employees
3,500
Parent Southern Company
Website southernnuclear.com
Southern Nuclear previous logo SouthernNuclear-logo.PNG
Southern Nuclear previous logo

Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a nuclear energy facility operators and involved in advanced nuclear technologies research. The company operates a total of seven units for Alabama Power and Georgia Power at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala.; the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Southern Nuclear is the licensee of two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle, which are among the first nuclear units being constructed in the United States in more than 30 years.

Contents

Southern Nuclear's reliability has a current average three-year fleet capacity factor of 93.2 percent, exceeding the U.S. average of 91.2 percent for the years 2013–2015.[ citation needed ]

Nuclear Power Generating Facilities

Plant Farley

The Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant is located on 1,850 acres along the Chattahoochee River near Dothan in southeast Alabama. Construction of the plant began in 1970. Unit 1 achieved commercial operation in December 1977. Unit 2 began commercial operation in July 1981. The total cost of the plant was about $1.57 billion.

Each unit is capable of generating 900 megawatts of electric power for a total capacity of 1,800 mW. The plant is powered by Westinghouse pressurized water reactors. The containment building, which houses the reactor, the reactor coolant system and other nuclear-related components, is constructed of reinforced concrete and carbon steel. [1]

Plant Hatch

The Edwin I. Hatch Electric Generating Plant sits on a 2,224-acre site along the Altamaha, Georgia's largest river, near Baxley, Ga. It is jointly owned by Georgia Power (50.1 percent), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (30 percent), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (17.7 percent) and Dalton Utilities (2.2 percent).

Construction of the plant began in 1968. Unit 1 began commercial operation in December 1975.

Unit 2 began commercial operation in September 1979. Units 1 and 2 are rated at 924 megawatts of electric power each for a total capacity of 1,848 mW. The plant is powered by boiling water reactors supplied by General Electric Company. [2]

Plant Vogtle

Unit 1 began commercial operation in May 1987. Unit 2 began commercial operation in May 1989. Each unit is capable of generating 1,215 megawatts of electric power for a total capacity of 2,430 mW. The plant is powered by pressurized water reactors manufactured by Westinghouse. The turbines and electric generators are manufactured by General Electric. [3]

Nuclear Development

Southern Nuclear is overseeing the licensing and construction of two new nuclear units at the Plant Vogtle site near Augusta, Ga. Vogtle 3 and 4 will be among the first new nuclear plants built in America in more than 30 years.

The construction of the new Vogtle units currently employs more than 5,000 people and will create 800 permanent jobs when the facility begins operating. Due to setbacks from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of reactor supplier Westinghouse, Vogtle units 3 and 4 were delayed from an initial schedule of 2022 and 2023, respectively. [4] [5] Vogtle units 3 and 4 ultimately were commissioned on July 31, 2023 and April 29, 2024, respectively.

Related Research Articles

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base, as of 2021. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territory with 27,000 miles (43,000 km) of distribution lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona

The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona, in western Arizona. It is located about 45 miles (72 km) west of downtown Phoenix. Palo Verde generates the most electricity out of any power plant in the United States per year, being listed as the largest power plant by net generation as of 2021. Palo Verde also has the third-largest rated capacity of any U.S power plant. It is a critical asset to the Southwest, generating approximately 32 million megawatt-hours annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas Nuclear One</span> Nuclear power plant located in Russellvile, Pope County, Arkansas

Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) is a two-unit pressurized water nuclear power plant located on Lake Dardanelle outside Russellville, Arkansas. Owned by Entergy Arkansas and operated by Entergy Nuclear, it is the only nuclear power facility in Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callaway Nuclear Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant located in Callaway County, Missouri

The Callaway Plant is a nuclear power plant located in Callaway County, Missouri. The plant is Missouri's only nuclear power plant and is close to Fulton, Missouri. The 2,767 acres (1,120 ha) site began operations on December 19, 1984. It generates electricity from one 1,190-megawatt Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactor and a General Electric turbine-generator. The Ameren Corporation owns and operates the plant through its subsidiary Ameren Missouri. It is one of several Westinghouse reactors designs called the "Standard Nuclear Unit Power Plant System," or SNUPPS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power plant near Baxley, Georgia

The Edwin Irby Hatch Nuclear Power Plant is near Baxley, Georgia, in the southeastern United States, on a 2,244-acre (9 km²) site. It has two General Electric boiling water reactors with a total capacity of 1,848 megawatts. Previously, the reactors had a combined capacity listing of 1,759 MW. Unit 1 went online in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1978. The plant was named for Edwin I. Hatch, president of Georgia Power from 1963 to 1975, and chairman from 1975 to 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watts Bar Nuclear Plant</span> Nuclear power plant in Rhea County, Tennessee

The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear reactor pair used for electric power generation. It is located on a 1,770-acre (7.2 km²) site in Rhea County, Tennessee, near Spring City, between the cities of Chattanooga and Knoxville. Watts Bar supplies enough electricity for about 1,200,000 households in the Tennessee Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vogtle Electric Generating Plant</span> Nuclear power plant in Burke County, Georgia, US

The Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, also known as Plant Vogtle, is a four-unit nuclear power plant located in Burke County, near Waynesboro, Georgia, in the southeastern United States. With a power capacity of 4,536 megawatts, it is the largest nuclear power plant, the largest source of low-carbon electricity, and second-largest power station overall in the United States. It is also the only nuclear plant in the country with four units. It is named after a former Alabama Power and Southern Company board chairman, Alvin Vogtle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant</span>

The Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Plant is located near Dothan, Alabama, in the southern United States. The twin-unit nuclear power station sits on a largely wooded and agricultural 1,850-acre (750 ha) site along the Chattahoochee River, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Columbia, Alabama, in Houston County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant located near Jenkinsville, South Carolina

The Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Power Station occupies a site near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, in Fairfield County, South Carolina, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Bend Nuclear Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant in Louisiana, United States

River Bend Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power station on a 3,300-acre (1,300 ha) site near St. Francisville, Louisiana in West Feliciana Parish, approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of Baton Rouge. The station has one sixth generation General Electric boiling water reactor that has a nominal gross electric output of about 1010 MWe. Commercial operation began on June 16, 1986. In 2003, owners applied and were approved for a power upgrade of approximately 52 megawatts in 2003. The nameplate capacity is 974 MW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AP1000</span> American pressurized water cooling nuclear reactor design

The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve its economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear power in the United States</span> Power source providing US electricity

In the United States, nuclear power is provided by 92 commercial reactors with a net capacity of 94.7 gigawatts (GW), with 61 pressurized water reactors and 31 boiling water reactors. In 2019, they produced a total of 809.41 terawatt-hours of electricity, which accounted for 20% of the nation's total electric energy generation. In 2018, nuclear comprised nearly 50 percent of US emission-free energy generation.

Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway Company.

Oglethorpe Power Corporation is a medium-sized electric utility in Georgia, United States. Formed in 1974, Oglethorpe is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by the 38 electric membership corporations that it serves. The utility's headquarters are in Tucker, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power station in Texas

Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant is located in Somervell County, Texas. The nuclear power plant is located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Ft. Worth and about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Dallas. It relies on nearby Comanche Creek Reservoir for cooling water. The plant has about 1,300 employees and is operated by Luminant Generation, a subsidiary of Vistra Corp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power plant in Ukraine

The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, also known as the Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant, is a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv Oblast, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) south of Kyiv. It is the second largest of the country's five nuclear power stations. It is part of the South Ukrainian Energy Complex, along with the Tashlyk Pumped-Storage Power Plant and Oleksandrivska hydroelectric power station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear renaissance in the United States</span> Potential U.S. nuclear power revival

Between 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for construction and operating licenses to build 31 new nuclear power reactors in the United States. However, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction has been hampered due to inexpensive natural gas, slow electricity demand growth in a weak US economy, lack of financing, and safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear accident at a plant built in the early 1970s which occurred in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offshore Power Systems</span> Defunct American developer of floating nuclear power stations

Offshore Power Systems (OPS) was a 1970 joint venture between Westinghouse Electric Company, which constructed nuclear generating plants, and Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock, which had recently merged with Tenneco, to create floating nuclear power plants at Jacksonville, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission</span> List of nuclear plants in the United States

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has divided the US territory into four regions:

References

  1. Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Southern Nuclear
  2. Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Southern Nuclear
  3. Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Southern Nuclear
  4. Matt Kempner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Georgia regulators raise fresh concerns about nuclear project's timing". ajc. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  5. "Vogtle Unit 3 Starts Hot Functional Testing; Eyes December In-Service". Power Magazine. April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.