Cranberry Township, PA-based Westinghouse Electric Company submitted a revision of the AP1000 Design Control Document to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would establish Plant Vogtle Unit 4 and the AP1000 reference plant for U.S. deployment.
The revision submission is part of the company’s plan to enable fleet-scale deployment of the advanced AP1000 modular reactor that support President Donald Trump’s vision to build a fleet of large nuclear reactors across the country. The revision formally implements the as-built Vogtle Unit 4 as the standard reference unit for all AP1000 projects, accelerating new AP1000 combined license applications and enabling rapid fleet deployment of AP1000 plants.
“The AP1000 stands alone as the only fully designed, licensed and operating advanced modular reactor that is ready for construction right now. Establishing Vogtle Unit 4 as the standard as-built reference plant for all new AP1000 projects will enable Westinghouse and its partners to rapidly deliver multiple industry-leading AP1000 units simultaneously with more predictability,” Dan Sumner, Interim CEO of Westinghouse, said. “For our customers, the ability to deploy a standard plant based on an as-built and operating unit without the technology risk associated with a first of a kind, never built design is a game changer for unlocking fleet-scale deployment.”
The advanced AP1000 reactor is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per Mwe on the market. Westinghouse said there are six AP1000 reactors currently setting operational performance and availability records around the world with 14 more reactors under construction and five more under contract.