U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey have joined Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Tom Fanning, Georgia Power Chairman, President and CEO Paul Bowers and hundreds of workers and special guests at the Vogtle 3 & 4 nuclear expansion project recently near Waynesboro, Georgia, to announce the closing of approximately USD1.67 B in additional Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees for the new Vogtle units.
Georgia Power had previously secured loan guarantees of USD3.46 B for the construction of the new units, the first to be built in the United States in more than 30 years.
Secretary Perry also witnessed 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. The containment vessel is a high-integrity steel structure that houses critical plant components.
Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the new units, with the project’s other co-owners including Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power, and Dalton Utilities.