AP1000

Costs to build the two Vogtle AP1000 units under construction in Georgia could range between $18.3 billion and $19.8 billion—and for now, Southern Co. is pinning its hopes to complete the project on approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning told investors in a second-quarter earnings call on August […]

A nuclear plant construction project in Georgia that is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget has been given a lifeline that at least temporarily eases concerns about its future. Toshiba, the parent company of Westinghouse, and Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power, majority owner of Plant Vogtle near Augusta, on June 9 reached […]

CEO Tom Fanning told Southern Co.’s shareholders attending the company’s annual meeting on May 24 that a decision on how to proceed with the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion could take several more months. The Vogtle expansion—one of two new nuclear construction projects underway in the U.S. utilizing Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology—has been in limbo, albeit still in […]

In 1957, legendary Calypso singer and civil rights activist Harry Bellefonte recorded “Jamaica Farewell,” which became a major hit in the U.S. The song’s chorus: “Sad to say, I’m on my way, won’t be back for many a day.” That looks like the theme song for nuclear power in the U.S. (and perhaps Western Europe […]

The recent announcement by Westinghouse Electric Co. that it had filed for bankruptcy sent a shockwave through the nuclear power industry. It wasn’t a secret that the company was struggling financially as a

UK Gives First Consent for Hinkley Point C EPRs. The UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) on March 27 gave its approval to allow a consortium to begin placing structural concrete for a series of

Construction of four AP1000 units—the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in decades—is moving along at Vogtle 3 and 4 in Georgia and at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina. In January, Westinghouse, which is spearheading construction of the units, marked a key milestone as it placed the first steam generator […]

The first nuclear reactor vessel at the Plant Vogtle expansion near Augusta, Ga., has been placed inside Unit 3, marking another major milestone for the much-watched project. Construction contractors Westinghouse and Fluor Corp. lifted the 306-ton reactor vessel into its permanent location inside the AP1000 unit’s nuclear island on November 23. The vessel, fabricated by […]

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are 60 nuclear reactors currently under construction around the world. China leads the way with 20 units in progress, followed by Russia with seven, and India with five. Twelve other countries, including the U.S., round out the list. The IAEA predicts that nuclear power generating capacity […]

JENKINSVILLE, S.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–This week Westinghouse Electric Company completed the placement of two modules that are part of the innovative safety systems of the AP1000® Unit 2 currently under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. The AP1000 plant safety systems rely on the laws of nature including gravity, natural circulation and condensation. The plant design […]

BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Westinghouse Electric Company has successfully completed another significant milestone toward achieving nth-of-a-kind delivery for the AP1000 nuclear power plant program. On July 2, Haiyang Unit 1 in Shandong Province successfully completed its cold hydrostatic test (CHT), further confirming safety and quality design features of the innovative nuclear power plant under construction in China. The […]

The second World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) began on June 28 in Le Bourget, just outside Paris, with the usual mixed messages about the need for and challenges of nuclear power globally. During the opening ceremony, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that the event was being held in the same […]

BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The world’s first AP1000® nuclear power plant moved a step closer to commissioning with the completion of the cold hydrostatic test (CHT) at Sanmen Unit 1 in Zhejiang Province, China. The successful completion of CHT confirms that the reactor systems meet design pressures under operating and accident conditions and signifies the completion of the […]

Westinghouse Electric Company, Sanmen Nuclear Power Company, Shandong Nuclear Power Company, State Nuclear Power Engineering Company and China Nuclear Industry Fifth Construction Company have together installed eight reactor coolant pumps (RCPs) at the world’s first AP1000 nuclear power plant units under construction in China. The complex process was improved by 11 days thanks to the […]

With all 40 remaining construction milestones for V.C. Summer Nuclear Station Units 2 and 3 behind schedule (33 by more than 18 months) as of June 30, South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) awaits approval of the petition it filed with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (SCPSC) to update its construction and […]

The last of three conditional commitments offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) to the coalition building two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia was finalized on June 24, allowing the project to be fully financed.  Since it conditionally offered $8.33 billion in loan guarantees in 2010, the DOE has issued $6.5 billion in guarantees […]

In-service dates for two nuclear units under construction at Plant Vogtle in Georgia have been moved out to December 2017 and December 2018, and the total project cost is now estimated at $6.76 billion—$650 million more than the certified cost—staff from Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) reported this week.  Steven Roetger and GDS Associates consultant […]