Super module in place at Summer 3

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

The CA01 'super module' has been installed at Summer unit 3 marking a construction landmark for the South Carolina AP1000.

An aerial view of the Summer site, showing unit 2's CA01 module lifted by the heavy lift derrick (Image: SCE&G)

Weighing 1089 tonnes and measuring over 27 metres long, 29 metres wide and 24 metres high, the concrete and steel module sits inside the unit's containment module where it will house the plant's steam generators and other components. It is referred to as a super module because it is too large to be transported by road and rail, and was constructed on site.

One of the world's largest cranes, a heavy lift derrick standing 171 metres tall, lifted the multi-compartment module into position on 16 December.

Summer 3 is one of two Westinghouse AP1000s being built at the site by Scana Corporation subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas and owner Santee Cooper. Westinghouse is the contractor, and Fluor is the construction manager.

Construction began on both units in 2013, with unit 2 expected to enter operations in 2019 and unit 3 in 2020. Summer 2's CA01 module was installed in July 2015, and its reactor vessel was placed inside the containment in August 2016.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News