BURKE COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia and Georgia Power leaders celebrated a milestone Wednesday — the grand opening of their Plant Vogtle Unit 4.
The reactor went online last month. It represents the end of years of construction at the nuclear plant near Waynesboro in east Georgia. Building Units 3 and 4 took years longer than expected and billions more than predicted. Critics say it's costing Georgia Power ratepayers more than $14 extra each month.
Gov. Brian Kemp says he's hoping the finished plant brings affordable power to Georgians.
"Reliable, consistent, affordable clean energy. That is what our customers are demanding," Kemp said.
Both units can power 500,000 homes each using steam to spin a generator.
"That turbine is spinning at 1,800 rotations per minute, which is producing more than 1,200 megawatts of electric energy that's being sent to the grid," said John Williams, the senior vice president over the new Vogtle units.
Williams says the process isn't all that different from other power plants. The main difference lies in how they produce the heat to create steam. While conventional power plants burn fuel to generate heat, nuclear plants split atoms — creating a reaction that causes the same effect.
"One-third of Georgia Power's energy will be produced by nuclear energy," Williams said.
Williams says the Vogtle units are the first of their kind in the United States, and other power companies are interested in following, too.
Gov. Kemp says he's talking with other governors who want to invest in nuclear power.
"I actually talked to one over the weekend who was telling me, 'Look, we're looking at nuclear right now.' So, I think you'll see more of that in the future," Kemp said.
In December, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a 6% rate hike to help pay for $7.6 billion in cost overruns. That means the average ratepayer is spending more than $14 extra each month on their power bill.
The reactors were originally projected to cost $12 billion and were supposed to be completed by 2017. Last year, estimates topped $34 billion.
Williams says construction on Unit 3 took longer than expected because it was their first time building a reactor like that. He says they took what they learned and built Unit 4 in half the time.