Georgia Power has announced the placement of the CA-04 module, which will house the reactor vessel for the Vogtle 3 AP1000 nuclear power plant under construction near Waynesboro, Georgia.

Made up of five sub-modules, CA-04 is 27 feet tall, 21 feet wide and weighs 29 tonnes. It was lifted into place using a 560-foot tall heavy lift derrick.

CA-04 is a "critical module" for the project, 45.7%-owner Georgia Power said. Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities are co-owners.

Four AP1000 reactors are currently under construction in the United States: Vogtle 3&4 and two units at the South Carolina Electric & Gas V.C. Summer site near Columbia in Jenkinsville, South Carolina.

The CA-04 module was installed for Summer 2 - the lead AP1000 for the SCE&G project - on 27 September 2013. Construction officially began at Summer 3 and at Vogtle 4 in November, with pouring of the concrete basemats for the nuclear islands.

CA-04 module being placed at Vogtle 3 (Source: Georgia Power)