The 900-ton containment vessel bottom head has been installed at unit 3 of the Vogtle AP1000 nuclear power plant, under construction in Georgia, USA.
The CVBH, around 40 metres wide and 12 metres high, was assembled on site from pre-fabricated steel plates. It was successfully installed on 1 June, according to Georgia Power, in what it described as the heaviest lifting operation performed so far on the site.
Construction on Vogtle 3 officially began in March 2013, with the official pouring of the concrete basemat. The reactor is scheduled to go online at the end of 2017, with unit 4 in 2018.
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is overseeing construction and will operate the two new 1100 MW AP1000 units for Georgia Power (45.7% owner) and co-owners Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.