Nuclear

Vogtle Unit 3 back online after valve issue

Georgia Power said the issue was traced to a valve malfunction on one of three main feedwater pumps located on the turbine side of the plant.
Vogtle Unit 3 back online after valve issue
(Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Source: Georgia Power.)

UPDATE, 7/17: Georgia Power has confirmed that Vogtle Unit 3 is back online and sending power to the grid.

Unit 3 had been offline for more than a week due to a “valve malfunction.”

A spokesperson for the utility said on the evening of July 8, plant operators executed a safe shutdown of the reactor, due to lowering water levels in the steam generators.

The issue was traced to a valve malfunction on one of the three main feedwater pumps, located on the turbine side of the plant. These pumps send water that has been heated from the condenser through a serious of feedwater heaters to be sent back to the steam generators.

The spokesperson said the utility teams investigated the issue and necessary repairs have been completed. Southern Nuclear notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and say at no time was the safety of the employees or community at risk.

“We do want customers to know that we maintain a diverse generation mix to help ensure reliable service for customers during very high, and very low, temperatures,” said the Georgia Power spokesperson. “We don’t anticipate any issues meeting demand due to this unit being offline.”  

Vogtle Unit 3, the first newly-constructed nuclear unit in the U.S. in over 30 years, entered commercial operation on July 31, 2023, after years of delays and projected costs of around $35 billion. Unit 4 successfully connected to the grid in March 2024.

Vogtle 3 & 4 are the first nuclear reactors to be built in the U.S. in decades.

President Biden’s administration estimates the U.S. will need to triple its nuclear capacity in order to reach net-zero by 2050.

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