SCE&G progresses with new nuclear project.

• Position: NUCLEAR UPDATE

About 2,900 Chicago Bridge & Iron, Westinghouse and subcontractor personnel are building two new reactors at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County, S.C, where South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) has operated Unit 1 for more than 30 years. The number of construction workers for the new nuclear project should peak at as many as 3,500. The two 1,117-megawatt AP1000 units will add 600 to 800 permanent jobs when operational. Once the two units are complete, SCE&G anticipates its generation mix will be about 30 percent nuclear, 30 percent natural gas, and 30 percent scrubbed coal, with the balance in hydro, solar and biomass generation. Here are some highlights of the two-reactor construction project during the past year.

Unit 3 Containment Vessel Bottom Head

The containment vessel bottom head (CVBH) on the basemat of V.C. Summer Unit 3 was placed in May by SCE&G and its partners. The approximately 900-ton CVBH was lifted into place with the Heavy Lift Derrick, one of the world's largest cranes. Consisting of nearly 2-inch-thick carbon steel, the CVBH forms the base of the Unit 3 containment vessel and is about 40 feet tall and 130 feet wide. The CVBH is the first of five sections comprising the structure that will house the reactor vessel and other plant safety systems. Three rings, each fabricated with multiple levels of steel plates, will follow. The containment vessel will then be capped with the top head. When complete, the containment vessel will weigh about 4,000 tons and stand more than 200 feet high with a 130-foot diameter.

Unit 2 CA20 Module

In May, SCE&G and its...