Rodney White
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and North America's Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey recently 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 to announce the closing of approximately $1.67 billion in additional DOE loan guarantees for the new Vogtle units.
"The Vogtle project is critically important to supporting the administration's direction to revitalize and expand the U.S. nuclear industry," said Secretary Perry. "A strong nuclear industry supports a reliable and resilient grid, and strengthens our energy and national security. As I've witnessed firsthand today, Vogtle is also an energy infrastructure project with a massive scope employing thousands of workers. This project is rebuilding a highly skilled U.S. nuclear workforce and supply chain for the future."
Georgia Power had previously secured loan guarantees of $3.46 billion for the construction of the new units, the first to be built in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
"Since the project began, we have committed to minimize the impact these new units will have on customers' bills, and securing these loans plays a key role by reducing our financing costs and passing along those benefits to our customers," said Bowers.
Secretary Perry 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.
"We have made significant progress since taking over construction at the site and expect that momentum to continue this year," said Bowers.
For more information, visit www. georgiapower.com or www.energy. gov.
