It sometimes surprises me just how long it takes the advertiser supported media to recognize an important story. This morning, my Google News Alert indicated that MSNBC and Bloomberg had both noticed that Westinghouse had transferred 75,000 documents relating to the design and construction of AP1000 nuclear reactor plants to China. One of those sources…
A little more than three years ago, I wrote an article expressing my belief that the four AP100s that Westinghouse sold to China in a landmark deal signed in December 2006 would be the only four reactors of that model that Westinghouse ever sold in China. In fact, I wondered at the time if Westinghouse…
During the Nuclear Construction Summit being held at the Dupont Hotel in Washington, DC on October 26 and 27, I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Luis Reyes, the Regional Administrator for NRC region II in Atlanta, GA. Under the current organization, Mr. Reyes has overall responsibility for all nuclear construction activity…
One of the lessons that should have been learned during the first nuclear age was that rule changes aimed at solving a new “issue” can have unintended consequences in another area of plant design. The example I remember was the issue of emergency core cooling systems where regulators determined that the rate of flow from…
Chinaview.cn published a story on February 26, 2008 titled China starts excavation for world’s first 3rd-generation nuclear plant. The plant is the first of four reactors whose order was initially announced in December, 2006. At the time, Steve Tritch, who was serving as Westinghouse president described the Chinese position during the negotiations as “very demanding”….
I have some trouble explaining my reluctance to do business with China. Perhaps it is just stubbornness or my inability to move on from my long established Cold War mentality, but I simply do not trust the dictatorial Communist Party government that still runs the place. Sure, they may be more interested in making money…
The Westinghouse AP1000 reactor plant design has been awarded a Design Certification by the US NRC. The decision was published in the Federal Register on 30 December 2005 and will become final 30 days after publication. Westinghouse Senior Vice President Daniel S. Lipman made the following statement about the AP1000 design: “The AP1000’s reliance on…