Georgia Power says Vogtle nuclear reactor delayed another month by turbine problem

A turbine that generates electricity using steam heated by nuclear fission sits at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga. Company officials announced Friday, June 16, 2023, that the turbine's hydrogen cooling system had a problem with its seal, pushing back the commercial operation date of Unit 3, one of two new reactors at the site, to July. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Commercial operation of a new reactor at a Georgia nuclear power plant has been delayed for at least another month.

Georgia Power Co. said Friday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has a problem in the hydrogen system that is used to cool its main electrical generator. The company now estimates the reactor will begin reliably sending electricity to the grid in July, missing the most recent deadline of June.

The generator is not part of the reactor itself. It’s located in a separate building, where steam from the heat created by fission in the nuclear reactor is piped to spin a turbine, generating up to 1,100 megawatts of electricity.