October 30, 2005

Nukes on order

Finally! From Westinghouse:
Westinghouse Pleased Duke Power to Pursue COL for 2 AP1000s
Duke Power's announcement today that it will prepare a combined construction and operating license (COL) for two Westinghouse AP1000s is a major step forward for nuclear power by a prominent, forward-looking U.S. energy company, Westinghouse Electric Company officials said today.

"Duke's decision is forward looking in that it will further ensure long-term and diverse generating options for Duke and its customers," said Steve Tritch, Westinghouse President and CEO. "As a result of this action, Duke will be in a position to commence construction of new nuclear plants as early as the 2010 timeframe."

The Westinghouse AP1000, set to receive Design Certification in December, is the only Generation III+ plant to receive Final Design Approval (FDA) from the U.S. NRC. Competing designs are still in the earliest stages (application or pre-application submittal) of the multi-year FDA process.
Very cool -- each reactor is rated for about 11 MWe which is enough to power a good sized city. New York requires about 35 MWe. Ten Megawatts of coal generated power requires about 90 traincar loads of coal per day to produce. Ten Megawatts of Nuclear requires about six kilos of fuel/day. Less environmental impact for the mining and refining and no greenhouse gasses.
nuclear_power_duke_reactor.jpg
Westinhouse's website for this unit can be found here: AP1000 Duke Power's website is here: Duke Power but their server seems to be down. Short article about them at Wikipedia Posted by DaveH at October 30, 2005 4:31 PM