This website uses cookies and other tracking technologies to enhance navigation, facilitate feedback, analyze usage of our products and services, support marketing efforts, and deliver third-party content. View our Privacy Policy.
Innovative Battery Manufacturing Facilities Construction management consultancy for building innovative battery manufacturing facilities in the United States. Bechtel is at the forefront of constructing innovative battery manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Our expert team ensures compliance with local codes and…
The Bechtel-built mine, one of the largest copper resources, features a first-of-its-kind desalination plant and will operate on 100% renewable energy by 2025.
Bechtel is delivering one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects — a state-of-the-art airport designed to handle 10 million passengers annually.
Bechtel Delivers America’s First New Nuclear Units in 30+ Years
At Bechtel, we don’t shy away from tough projects — we step in when others step back. In 2017, Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear brought Bechtel in midway to complete two new AP1000 nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia — the first new nuclear units built in the U.S. in over 30 years.
Since the 1950s, Bechtel has led the industry, delivering more than 150 nuclear power plants worldwide. With strong labor partnerships and supply chains, we delivered one of the most complex energy projects in U.S. history.
Together, Units 3 and 4 mark the rebirth of U.S. nuclear power — proving that America can once again build world-class reactors to meet its clean energy goals.
9000
Craft Professionals
At peak, more than 9,000 craft professionals worked on site.
70000000
Work Hours
Achieved 70 million work hours without a lost-time incident.
30%
Less
After completing Unit 3 at Vogtle, Bechtel drove costs down by 30% when delivering Unit 4.
Restoring U.S. Nuclear Leadership
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.
Building Vogtle Units 3 and 4—the nation’s second-largest construction project—required an extraordinary workforce. At peak, more than 9,000 skilled professionals worked onsite, making it the largest construction effort in Georgia’s history.
Through our partnership with North America’s Building Trades Unions, we brought together talent through the project from Apprenticeship Readiness Programs (ARPs) and Helmets to Hardhats, creating a pipeline of trained, job-ready workers. More than 30% of Vogtle hires were veterans and reservists, bringing discipline, technical skill, and leadership to the project.
ARP apprentices earned while they learned—advancing toward journeyperson status while receiving healthcare and retirement benefits. The workforce also set new standards for inclusion: over 40% of ARP apprentices were women, and more than 80% came from underrepresented groups.
Importantly, these men and women now bring proven nuclear construction experience—ready to be deployed to accelerate future nuclear projects across the United States.
The Vogtle Story: Bechtel Steps In
Our story at Vogtle began long before we completed Units 3 and 4. Bechtel’s history with the plant dates back to the 1980s when we helped build Units 1 and 2. Both units remain in service today under extended licenses.
In 2017, Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear turned to Bechtel to get Units 3 and 4 back on track after years of failed attempts by others.
In 2023 and 2024, we delivered Vogtle Units 3 and 4—built to operate safely for 60 years and cut carbon emissions equal to removing 1 million cars from the road annually.
Unit 1 and 2 built
Bechtel designs and builds Vogtle Units 1 and 2 in Georgia, each 1,100 megawatts. Their 90-foot-deep foundations required advanced seismic analysis. Both units remain in service today under extended licenses.
Vogtle expands
Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear announce plans to build two more nuclear reactors at Vogtle—the first in America in more than 30 years. NRC approves construction licenses for Units 3 and 4, and initial site work begins under other contractors, before Bechtel’s involvement.
Construction begins
Other contractors begin full-scale construction on Units 3 and 4.
Delays mount
The project encounters escalating cost overruns, schedule delays, extended licensing reviews, and contractor setbacks jeopardizing progress.
Bechtel steps in
After multiple firms struggle to deliver, Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear hire Bechtel to take over construction midway of Units 3 and 4, drawing on our 70+ years of nuclear expertise.
Fuel loading
Bechtel reaches a major milestone as fuel loading and startup testing begin on Unit 3, paving the way for commercial operations.
Unit 3 online
Bechtel completes construction of Unit 3, making history as the first nuclear plant to become operational in the U.S. in 30+ years. In this moment, Bechtel proves U.S. nuclear can be built again at scale.
Unit 4 online
Bechtel completes Unit 4. With both units in commercial operations, Vogtle becomes the largest clean energy generator in America.
Enduring impact
Together, Units 3 and 4 generate enough electricity to power 1 million Georgia homes and businesses — reinforcing the United States as the trusted partner for nuclear energy around the world.
Digital Delivery: Building at Scale
Bechtel delivers nuclear projects with greater speed and certainty by leveraging digital tools, modular construction, and proven designs.
Real-time data streamlines decisions and workflows, advanced modularization improves quality and reduces risk, and repeatable strategies—which we’ve refined through our mega-project experience—help drive down costs and accelerate schedules.
Writing the Playbook on Nuclear
For more than 70 years, Bechtel has delivered nuclear construction worldwide—including gigawatt reactors, small modular reactors, and advanced reactors. From early site selection to final startup, we provide full-service solutions powered by the latest digital tools.
That legacy now includes Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the first new U.S. nuclear builds in more than three decades. More than 1,500 Bechtel professionals gained hands-on nuclear experience across every phase of construction, creating a workforce ready to deliver the next generation of projects.
With decades of expertise, strengthened supply chains, and proven project systems, Bechtel is prepared to lead America’s nuclear resurgence.
Related Resources
Wyoming, U.S.
Natrium® Demonstration Project
2025
Bechtel is building TerraPower’s groundbreaking advanced nuclear reactor with energy storage for sustainable, carbon-free power.
Bechtel completed Watts Bar Unit 2, the first U.S. nuclear reactor of the 21st century, delivering 1,150 MW of carbon-free electricity and supporting regional growth.
Milestone reaffirms importance of nuclear energy in U.S., opportunity for partnership 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...
Commercial Operations at Vogtle Unit 3 is an Important Milestone for US Nuclear Industry
Impact “much bigger than a single project” Bechtel, the engineering, procurement, and construction company brought in to complete construction on new Units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia, today issued the following statement from Brendan Bechtel, Bechtel...
Poland’s First Nuclear Plant Moves Forward with Westinghouse-Bechtel, PEJ Agreement
The Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) announced the signing of an Engineering Development Agreement (EDA). The agreement marks the next step in advancing the three-unit AP1000® project in Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship.
America’s Nuclear Energy Moment Is Here — Let’s Seize It
By: Craig Albert
In a new op-ed for The Hill, Craig Albert, Bechtel’s President and COO, underscores America’s opportunity to lead the next generation of nuclear energy – and the critical role Bechtel will play in making it happen.
What’s New About America’s Next Nuclear Power Plant? Everything
By: Craig Albert
Groundbreaking ceremonies are familiar for Bechtel. We’ve participated in this custom hundreds of times all over the world. These are always special. But even more so when the groundbreaking is truly breaking new ground for our society and environment.
Brendan Bechtel on Rebuilding America’s Leadership in Nuclear Power
By: Brendan Bechtel
The U.S. is once again building and innovating in nuclear power. This week, the second of two new nuclear units went into service in Georgia. Meanwhile, developers in Wyoming just filed permit applications for America’s next nuclear plant, Natrium.
