At both Mississippi Power’s Kemper County Energy Facility and new nuclear units 3 and 4 at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing the future of energy by advancing clean coal technology and next generation nuclear solutions that are expected to deliver clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to customers for decades to come.

2016 saw significant milestones at Southern Company’s two major construction projects, Mississippi Power’s Kemper County Energy Facility, and Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4 near Augusta, Georgia.

Kemper County Energy Facility

Mississippi Power’s state-of-the-art Kemper County Energy Facility has been running on natural gas since August of 2014, supplying a significant portion of the electricity used by Mississippi Power customers, and operating approximately four times more efficiently than the industry average for combined cycled plants.

This integrated gasification combined cycle design employs a technology called TRIG™, or Transport Integrated Gasification. TRIG was developed at the Power Systems Development Facility at the National Carbon Capture Center in Wilsonville, Alabama–a research facility operated by the Southern Company system on behalf of the United States Department of Energy.

With TRIG, the Kemper County Energy Facility will be able to convert native Mississippi lignite coal into clean-burning synthesis gas while reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and mercury. The technology is designed to capture some 65 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions produced on-site. The facility is also a zero liquid discharge facility which means that none of the water used in generating electricity is released into surrounding rivers and streams.

Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4

In November of 2016, workers placed the first new nuclear reactor vessel in the state of Georgia in more than 30 years. The 306-ton reactor vessel was lifted into its permanent location inside the Unit 3 nuclear island using one of the largest cranes in the world—a heavy-lift derrick with a 560-foot front boom. The reactor vessel will function as a heat source from the nuclear fission process to produce steam that will generate electricity for homes and businesses throughout Georgia.

Also in November, workers safely placed the CA-01 module for Unit 4—the project’s second heaviest lift. This module, made entirely of steel, will house two steam generators for Unit 4, in addition to other equipment.