Westinghouse Electric Co., the US nuclear-technology giant, is developing a compact version of its flagship power plant, a move aimed at making its designs more competitive in markets that don’t need large, conventional reactors.
(Bloomberg) — Westinghouse Electric Co., the US nuclear-technology giant, is developing a compact version of its flagship power plant, a move aimed at making its designs more competitive in markets that don’t need large, conventional reactors.
The company unveiled plans on Thursday for a small modular reactor it calls the AP300, which is based on technology from its 1.1-gigawatt AP1000 reactor. Westinghouse expects the new design will get federal approval in 2027, and the first unit may start delivering power to the grid in about 2033. The compact plant would have a generating capacity of 300 megawatts, making it a suitable replacement for coal plants that often generate a similar amount of power.
The AP300 is one of dozens of so-called SMRs that are expected to be made in factories and assembled on site, an approach advocates say will make them faster and cheaper to build. Westinghouse said it would eventually be able to deliver one for about $1 billion. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved only one design to date and it’s unlikely any will be in service in the US before the end of the decade.
“We are confident this will sail through the licensing process,” David Durham, president of Westinghouse’s energy services unit, said in an interview. “We’re getting into the SMR game in a big way.”
The company’s experience with big nuclear plants will help it bring the design to market, Durham said. There are four of the larger AP1000 reactors operating in China, and the company has deals to build additional units in Poland and Ukraine. A plant is about to go into service in the US, though that project in the state of Georgia has been plagued with cost overruns and delays.
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