A group of Westinghouse Electric partners from Pennsylvania were among more than 30 suppliers that visited Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. to tout Westinghouse’s AP1000 nuclear technology.
The advanced AP1000 reactor is a nuclear power plant designed by Cranberry Township-based Westinghouse. It is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market.
The AP1000 is the only fully licensed, construction-ready advanced reactor available today. There are two AP1000 units already in commercial operation at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, Georgia, each generating enough electricity to power an estimated 500,000 households and businesses.
Currently there are six AP1000 reactors setting operating worldwide with 12 additional reactors under construction. Further, five more are under contract.
By the end of this decade, there will be 18 units based on AP1000 technology in operation around the world. The AP1000 technology has also been selected for nuclear energy programs in Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria. In addition, it is under consideration at multiple other sites in Europe, the United Kingdom, India and North America.
At more than 80 meetings with members of Congress, Westinghouse and its suppliers shared the economic impact and manufacturing jobs created in their states by building AP1000 units.
“The AP1000 reactor can be deployed immediately, creating affordable and abundant energy as well as high-paying, highly skilled jobs through Westinghouse and its suppliers,” Dan Lipman, president of Westinghouse Energy Systems, said. “Every two-unit AP1000 project built in the U.S. will create or sustain more than 45,000 American jobs in 43 states and the District of Columbia, and 10,000 construction jobs. We appreciate the productive meetings we had with Congressional members and look forward to working closely to bring more U.S. nuclear generation online.”
Westinghouse suppliers outlined the benefits of building new nuclear power generation in the U.S. to meet the energy demands of industries such as high tech and advanced manufacturing. The AP1000 technology is the quickest way to add advanced nuclear generation in the U.S. Suppliers also said Westinghouse is positioned in the industry to deliver proven, reliable nuclear power at scale at the lowest cost per Mwe of any advanced reactor.
Among the Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse suppliers in Washington, D.C., were:
- Curtiss-Wright Corporation
- Custom Engineering
- Eaton
- Emerson
- Innomotics
- Tioga Pipe
- Trillium Flow Technologies
- Xylem (Evoqua)