Milestone reaffirms importance of nuclear energy in U.S.,
opportunity for partnership
WAYNESBORO, Ga., April 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bechtel, the engineering,
procurement, and construction company under contract to help
complete construction on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Waynesboro, Georgia, congratulates Georgia
Power and Southern Nuclear on achieving commercial operations for
Unit 4.
Reflecting on today's milestone, Brendan Bechtel, chairman and CEO of
Bechtel, shared the following:
"According to the World Nuclear Association,
about 30 countries are considering, planning, or starting nuclear
power programs, and 20 more have signaled an interest. At the
recent Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels last month, 32 world leaders
confirmed their COP 28 climate
commitments to triple their nuclear capacity by 2050 in recognition
of the technology's essential role in cutting carbon emissions to
near zero. The U.S. should aim for a thriving nuclear industry that
provides a competitive alternative for nations in the global
market."
"Plant Vogtle is already moving us in the
right direction. It has begun rebuilding the United States' muscle memory in nuclear
construction, including reestablishing critical supply chains.
Designing and building a nuclear power plant requires extreme
precision, with safety and performance criteria far exceeding those
in other types of construction. Bechtel, which was hired in 2017 to
help complete Vogtle Units 3 and 4, partnered with North America's Building Trades Unions to
assemble a team that peaked at over 9,000 workers. This workforce
gained specialized skills and hands-on experience transferable to
future projects."
Today's milestone also represents an inflection point for the
future of the U.S. nuclear industry, Bechtel said.
"Continuing to grow America's civilian
nuclear sector, including investments in both established and
next-generation reactor technology, can reestablish the U.S. as the
responsible partner of choice for new nuclear energy in the decades
ahead. The accomplishment this week at Vogtle brings us closer to
that goal."
Brendan Bechtel's complete
comments are available in a post on www.bechtel.com.
Background
In 2017, Bechtel was brought in by Georgia Power and Southern
Nuclear to help bring Vogtle Units 3 and 4 online. With this
milestone, Plant Vogtle is the largest generator of clean energy
anywhere in the U.S. with each of the new units capable of
generating enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 homes
and businesses.
Bechtel has completed more than 76,000 megawatts of new nuclear
generation capacity and has designed, built, or performed
engineering and/or construction services on more than 80% of
nuclear plants in the United
States. Today, the company leads efforts in designing and
constructing advanced nuclear plants critical to global efforts to
achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Learn more about how Bechtel is helping customers around the
world increase energy security and efficiency through
next-generation energy sources:
https://impact.bechtel.com/powered/
About Bechtel
Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction, and project
management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by
the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the
most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our
customers' objectives to create a lasting positive
impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more
than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that
have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of
the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources,
and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.
Bechtel serves the Energy; Infrastructure; Manufacturing &
Technology; Mining & Metals; and Nuclear, Security, &
Environmental markets. Our services span from initial planning and
investment, through start-up and
operations. www.bechtel.com
Contact: Amanda Meixel |
ammeixel@bechtel.com | P: (706) 360-5526
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SOURCE Bechtel