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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has informed Westinghouse that the company has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised AP1000 shield building can withstand design basis loads. An NRC letter to Westinghouse states that progress on the shield building review will require the company to provide modifications to the design, as well as testing that demonstrates the building will perform its intended safety function under design basis loads. The staff will continue its review of the remainder of the AP1000 design certification amendment application. As the name implies, the AP1000 shield building would protect the reactor's primary containment from severe weather and other events. The building's other functions would include providing a radiation barrier during normal operation and supporting an emergency cooling water tank. "We've been talking to Westinghouse regularly about the shield building since October 2008, and we've consistently laid out our questions to the company," said Michael Johnson, director of the NRC's Office of New Reactors. "This is a situation where fundamental engineering standards will have to be met before we can begin determining whether the shield building meets the agency's requirements."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has informed Westinghouse that the company has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised AP1000 shield building can withstand design basis loads. An NRC letter to Westinghouse states that progress on the shield building review will require the company to provide modifications to the design, as well as testing that demonstrates the building will perform its intended safety function under design basis loads. The staff will continue its review of the remainder of the AP1000 design certification amendment application. As the name implies, the AP1000 shield building would protect the reactor's primary containment from severe weather and other events. The building's other functions would include providing a radiation barrier during normal operation and supporting an emergency cooling water tank. "We've been talking to Westinghouse regularly about the shield building since October 2008, and we've consistently laid out our questions to the company," said Michael Johnson, director of the NRC's Office of New Reactors. "This is a situation where fundamental engineering standards will have to be met before we can begin determining whether the shield building meets the agency's requirements."

The U.S. NRC has informed Westinghouse that the proposed design of the shield building for its AP1000(TM) nuclear power plant will require either additional analysis, testing or actual design modifications to ensure compliance with NRC requirements. As a result of our understanding of the requirements, Westinghouse fully expected that the NRC would require additional analysis, testing or actual design modifications to the shield building. In fact, we had already begun to address certain portions of the design. We have fully committed the resources necessary to both quickly and definitively address the NRC's concerns, and we are confident that we will meet all applicable requirements. Westinghouse continues to work toward our goal of receiving Design Amendment Certification from the NRC in 2011, and we continue to work to bring the first AP1000s online in the United States in the 2016 timeframe.

The U.S. NRC has informed Westinghouse that the proposed design of the shield building for its AP1000(TM) nuclear power plant will require either additional analysis, testing or actual design modifications to ensure compliance with NRC requirements. As a result of our understanding of the requirements, Westinghouse fully expected that the NRC would require additional analysis, testing or actual design modifications to the shield building. In fact, we had already begun to address certain portions of the design. We have fully committed the resources necessary to both quickly and definitively address the NRC's concerns, and we are confident that we will meet all applicable requirements. Westinghouse continues to work toward our goal of receiving Design Amendment Certification from the NRC in 2011, and we continue to work to bring the first AP1000s online in the United States in the 2016 timeframe.

Westinghouse and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet next week to discuss issues over the design of the safety building for the proposed AP1000 nuclear reactor, Bloomberg reports. Last month, the NRC rejected the design of the building that houses the reactor. The regulator says it is not clear the building can stand up to natural disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes. It asked Westinghouse to make additional changes or demonstrate that the building meets the required standard. Bloomberg quotes NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko as saying that plans to build the structure in parts instead of a solid, single piece has raised regulatory concerns. Westinghouse and its principal parent Toshiba Corp. have growing nuclear operations in Charlotte. The Shaw Power Group, also based in Charlotte, is the preferred contractor for AP1000 projects. Its parent, The Shaw Group, owns a 20 percent stake in Westinghouse.

Westinghouse and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet next week to discuss issues over the design of the safety building for the proposed AP1000 nuclear reactor, Bloomberg reports. Last month, the NRC rejected the design of the building that houses the reactor. The regulator says it is not clear the building can stand up to natural disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes. It asked Westinghouse to make additional changes or demonstrate that the building meets the required standard. Bloomberg quotes NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko as saying that plans to build the structure in parts instead of a solid, single piece has raised regulatory concerns. Westinghouse and its principal parent Toshiba Corp. have growing nuclear operations in Charlotte. The Shaw Power Group, also based in Charlotte, is the preferred contractor for AP1000 projects. Its parent, The Shaw Group, owns a 20 percent stake in Westinghouse.

Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority said they are unsure how long a proposed AP1000 nuclear plant near here could be delayed after Westinghouse failed to show that certain parts of a shield building can withstand design basis loads. "Obviously, it won't make it shorter," TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said this afternoon. NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said in a phone interivew that the shield building encloses the containment building, which contains the reactor. In a press release issued this afternoon, the NRC said it informed Westinghouse, the designer of the AP1000 proposed for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, "that it has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised...shield building can withstand design basis loads."

Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority said they are unsure how long a proposed AP1000 nuclear plant near here could be delayed after Westinghouse failed to show that certain parts of a shield building can withstand design basis loads. "Obviously, it won't make it shorter," TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said this afternoon. NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said in a phone interivew that the shield building encloses the containment building, which contains the reactor. In a press release issued this afternoon, the NRC said it informed Westinghouse, the designer of the AP1000 proposed for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, "that it has not demonstrated that certain structural components of the revised...shield building can withstand design basis loads."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission raised safety concerns Thursday with the design of a proposed next-generation reactor to be built by Westinghouse Electric Co., saying a key part of the reactor may not withstand a tornado, earthquake or even high winds. The NRC staff directed Westinghouse to make changes in the reactor design so that its outer shell, which is supposed to protect the reactor's concrete containment structure, is strengthened. The staff concluded the outer steel and composite structure does not meet the design requirements for safety. The reactor, called the AP1000, is one of three next-generation reactor designs under NRC review. The others are being proposed by Areva Inc., the French nuclear company, and GE Hitachi Corp. But the AP1000 is one of the most popular and has been widely viewed as likely to be the first of the new reactors to be built in the United States. At least seven utilities have selected the reactor design in preliminary applications filed with the NRC, anticipating the potential construction of 14 units.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission raised safety concerns Thursday with the design of a proposed next-generation reactor to be built by Westinghouse Electric Co., saying a key part of the reactor may not withstand a tornado, earthquake or even high winds. The NRC staff directed Westinghouse to make changes in the reactor design so that its outer shell, which is supposed to protect the reactor's concrete containment structure, is strengthened. The staff concluded the outer steel and composite structure does not meet the design requirements for safety. The reactor, called the AP1000, is one of three next-generation reactor designs under NRC review. The others are being proposed by Areva Inc., the French nuclear company, and GE Hitachi Corp. But the AP1000 is one of the most popular and has been widely viewed as likely to be the first of the new reactors to be built in the United States. At least seven utilities have selected the reactor design in preliminary applications filed with the NRC, anticipating the potential construction of 14 units.

Not only does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) objection last week to major problems in the AP1000 reactor design call into serious question the future of over half of proposed new reactors in the United States (14 of 25), it also means that it would be "grossly imprudent" for the Department of Energy (DOE) to proceed with its plans for loan guarantees for new reactors that are not finalized and licensed. Four experts delivered that stern warning during a news conference today urging the DOE to halt controversial plans to issue nuclear loan guarantees "soon," according to Energy Secretary Chu. These guarantees are part of the DOE's Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. Two of the four new nuclear projects that the DOE is reported to be considering for taxpayer-backed loan guarantees are AP1000 designs proposed by the Southern Company at the Vogtle site in Georgia and the South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) V.C. Summer site.

Not only does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) objection last week to major problems in the AP1000 reactor design call into serious question the future of over half of proposed new reactors in the United States (14 of 25), it also means that it would be "grossly imprudent" for the Department of Energy (DOE) to proceed with its plans for loan guarantees for new reactors that are not finalized and licensed. Four experts delivered that stern warning during a news conference today urging the DOE to halt controversial plans to issue nuclear loan guarantees "soon," according to Energy Secretary Chu. These guarantees are part of the DOE's Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. Two of the four new nuclear projects that the DOE is reported to be considering for taxpayer-backed loan guarantees are AP1000 designs proposed by the Southern Company at the Vogtle site in Georgia and the South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) V.C. Summer site.

Westinghouse Electric Co. said it signed separate agreements September 4 with three companies to collaborate on work for construction in the UK of its AP1000 reactor design. In a September 4 press statement, Westinghouse said the agreements ? with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Doosan Babcock -- may lead to the UK supply chain providing 70%-80% of the services required to build the AP1000.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available the public version of a combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Turkey Point site near Miami. The applicant, Florida Power & Light (FP&L), submitted the application and associated information June 30. The application, minus proprietary and security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point.html. FP&L's COL application seeks approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site, approximately 25 miles south of Miami. The AP1000 is a Westinghouse 1,100 MWe pressurized-water reactor design the NRC certified in 2006. Westinghouse submitted an application in May 2007 to amend the certified design. The design certification amendment application (minus proprietary and security-related details) is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/amended-ap1000.html.

China will start building another "two or three" third-generation Westinghouse nuclear reactors by the end of next year once they have been approved by the government, the China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said the AP1000 reactor projects would also be the first to be built in the country's interior provinces, with central China's Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi likely candidates. All of China's existing reactors are located along the eastern coast. China signed an agreement with Westinghouse Electric in 2006 to build four AP1000 reactors in the coastal provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang.

China will start building another "two or three" third-generation Westinghouse nuclear reactors by the end of next year once they have been approved by the government, the China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said the AP1000 reactor projects would also be the first to be built in the country's interior provinces, with central China's Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi likely candidates. All of China's existing reactors are located along the eastern coast. China signed an agreement with Westinghouse Electric in 2006 to build four AP1000 reactors in the coastal provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang.

"Yesterday we brought you more of the continuing and farcical story of the state of the art European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) being built by AREVA at Olkiluoto in Finland. The many, many diverse delays incompetence in the project have led to it being (at the time of writing) four years behind schedule and 2.3 billion euros over-budget. It's not just in Finland, however, where the reactor that was supposed to relaunch the nuclear 'renaissance' is struggling. In the UK, where the EPR - along with the Westinghouse AP1000 - is being evaluated for possible construction there, the government's Health and Safety Executive has said its design assessment process will miss its June 2011 deadline. More information is required from the reactor vendors in a number of areas: fault studies, fuel design and electrical systems for AP1000; and mechanical engineering, environment and fuel design for the EPR. For both reactors the HSE wants more information on structural integrity as well as higher active waste and used fuel management."

"The latest progress report from UK nuclear safety regulators has made the best-case completion of the Generic Design Assessment process seem unlikely. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said detailed examination of the Areva EPR and Westinghouse AP1000 was well underway and making reasonable progress with a rapidly increasing workrate. However, it is facing a deadline of June 2011 when it is meant to issue the most meaningful design acceptance certificates that it can for the reactors. While most plant systems and features have posed no substantial problem, there remain some that could potentially have to be dealt with under separate processes which extend the overall GDA effort beyond June 2011. As well as acceptance certificates, the HSE said it is planning to publish "a suite of progress reports" in June 2011 "together with the requesting parties' resolution plans for any outstanding issues relating to GDA." "

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed, or accepted for review, a combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Levy County site near Crystal River, Fla. Progress Energy submitted the application and associated information July 30. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/levy.html. Progress seeks approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site, approximately 10 miles northeast of Crystal River. The AP1000 is a Westinghouse 1,100 megawatt electric pressurized-water reactor design the NRC certified in 2006.

Westinghouse vows to fix all the issues raised by regulators SCOTTSBORO - Westinghouse's failure to show that a shield building for a proposed nuclear plant near Scottsboro is structurally safe is "the tip of the iceberg of problems that lie ahead" for the project, said Lou Zeller, director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Zeller said Friday that cracks could cause the steel and concrete buildings housing a nuclear reactor to leak into the air outside the plant. But Westinghouse spokesman Scott Shaw said that the plant "wouldn't be licensed" if that were the case. Zeller said containment buildings at older nuclear plants are "showing signs of wear and tear," including cracks. But Shaw said Westinghouse designed a concrete building with steel plates to prevent any leaks, instead of steel-reinforced bars used in previous nuclear plant designs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday informed Westinghouse, designer of the AP1000 plant proposed at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte site, that it will need to modify its design.

Westinghouse vows to fix all the issues raised by regulators SCOTTSBORO - Westinghouse's failure to show that a shield building for a proposed nuclear plant near Scottsboro is structurally safe is "the tip of the iceberg of problems that lie ahead" for the project, said Lou Zeller, director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Zeller said Friday that cracks could cause the steel and concrete buildings housing a nuclear reactor to leak into the air outside the plant. But Westinghouse spokesman Scott Shaw said that the plant "wouldn't be licensed" if that were the case. Zeller said containment buildings at older nuclear plants are "showing signs of wear and tear," including cracks. But Shaw said Westinghouse designed a concrete building with steel plates to prevent any leaks, instead of steel-reinforced bars used in previous nuclear plant designs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday informed Westinghouse, designer of the AP1000 plant proposed at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte site, that it will need to modify its design.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with Toshiba Corp. next week to discuss the safety of its proposed AP1000 nuclear-reactor design. Toshiba's Westinghouse unit will address the commission's concern about the structural integrity of the silo-shaped shield building that would contain the reactor and trap radioactivity in an accident, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said today in an interview at Bloomberg's New York bureau. Containment buildings at existing reactors were poured at the site as a solid piece of steel-reinforced concrete, Jaczko said. Toshiba wants to piece the building together from sections, he said. "Where the staff has some concerns is how those things are tied together," Jaczko said. "When you're dealing with the kinds of accident scenarios that we look at, or hurricanes or tornados or seismic events, will that structure maintain its integrity?"

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with Toshiba Corp. next week to discuss the safety of its proposed AP1000 nuclear-reactor design. Toshiba's Westinghouse unit will address the commission's concern about the structural integrity of the silo-shaped shield building that would contain the reactor and trap radioactivity in an accident, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said today in an interview at Bloomberg's New York bureau. Containment buildings at existing reactors were poured at the site as a solid piece of steel-reinforced concrete, Jaczko said. Toshiba wants to piece the building together from sections, he said. "Where the staff has some concerns is how those things are tied together," Jaczko said. "When you're dealing with the kinds of accident scenarios that we look at, or hurricanes or tornados or seismic events, will that structure maintain its integrity?"

RALEIGH - The nuclear plant design favored for new plants by Progress Energy, Duke Energy and three other utilities is the subject of multiple design changes that energy industry watchdogs say undermine the concept of a pre-certified design and could delay the construction of new reactors while adding billions to the cost. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified the plant design of Westinghouse Electric Co.'s AP1000 at the end of 2005. Pre-certification was intended to help streamline an approvals process that takes years before plant construction even begins.

LONDON (Reuters) - Six of Europe's largest utilities are pushing for Westinghouse's (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) AP1000 reactor to be used to build the next generation of nuclear power plants in Britain, Westinghouse said on Friday.

Federal review of a new nuclear reactor design will take 15 months longer than expected, although the impact on planned nuclear projects is expected to be minimal, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Six U.S. energy companies, including Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light, plan to build the 1,100-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. The delay in finalizing the reactor design is not expected to lead to significant delays in the licensing and building of planned reactors, said Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the commission. Progress Energy, for instance, has plans for a $17 billion nuclear project in Levy County originally scheduled to come online around 2016 or 2017.

NuStart Energy Development has picked a Georgia nuclear plant over the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro as its pilot project for a new generation of reactors. But the Tennessee Valley Authority said it will continue pursuing federal approval to build and operate Units 3 and 4 at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant. TVA said Thursday that NuStart "is transferring the reference designation" to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors from Bellefonte to Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle site near Waynesboro, Ga. "The change," it said, "is designed to align industry and regulatory resources with a license application that has specific, near-term construction plans." Atlanta-based Southern, parent of Alabama Power, anticipates getting a license to build and run the two new reactors in 2011 and having them online by 2016. TVA is looking at getting a license for Bellefonte in 2012 and having its two units ready by 2018. The Nuclear Regulatory Association must approve all new reactors.

Loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants in the U.S. should not be awarded until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has fully reviewed plans for a proposed project and granted it a combined construction and operating license (COL), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week. "Otherwise valuable taxpayer support would be set aside for a project that may not pass regulatory review," the chair of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee said in a letter (PDF) to Chu. The congressman's concerns were raised by the NRC's Oct. 16 notice to Westinghouse Electric Co. that it had not adequately demonstrated the structural strength of certain components of its AP1000 reactor design, specifically for the shield building. The shield building protects the reactor's primary containment from severe weather and other events, but it also provides a radiation barrier during normal operation and supports an emergency cooling water tank.

Loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants in the U.S. should not be awarded until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has fully reviewed plans for a proposed project and granted it a combined construction and operating license (COL), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week. "Otherwise valuable taxpayer support would be set aside for a project that may not pass regulatory review," the chair of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee said in a letter (PDF) to Chu. The congressman's concerns were raised by the NRC's Oct. 16 notice to Westinghouse Electric Co. that it had not adequately demonstrated the structural strength of certain components of its AP1000 reactor design, specifically for the shield building. The shield building protects the reactor's primary containment from severe weather and other events, but it also provides a radiation barrier during normal operation and supports an emergency cooling water tank.

Regulators' concerns about two new nuclear reactor designs could throw a wrench in energy companies' plans for a build-out of nuclear power plants in the U.S. Regulators in France, the U.K. and Finland told French nuclear powerhouse Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) earlier this month to fix a flaw in the safety systems for its EPR reactor, which the company is also seeking to license in the U.S. And in October, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a modified version of the AP1000 reactor, designed by Toshiba Corp.'s (6502.TO) Westinghouse Electric Co., citing concerns about structural integrity. Regulatory delays could force U.S. power companies like Scana Corp. (SCG) and PPL Corp. (PPL) to push back their timetables for building nuclear power plants using the new reactor technology, though both of these companies say their plans currently remain on track. More than a decade after the last commercial nuclear reactor was completed in the U.S., such delays could lead to the kinds of cost overruns that plagued developers in the first wave of U.S. nuclear power plant construction.

Regulators' concerns about two new nuclear reactor designs could throw a wrench in energy companies' plans for a build-out of nuclear power plants in the U.S. Regulators in France, the U.K. and Finland told French nuclear powerhouse Areva S.A. (CEI.FR) earlier this month to fix a flaw in the safety systems for its EPR reactor, which the company is also seeking to license in the U.S. And in October, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a modified version of the AP1000 reactor, designed by Toshiba Corp.'s (6502.TO) Westinghouse Electric Co., citing concerns about structural integrity. Regulatory delays could force U.S. power companies like Scana Corp. (SCG) and PPL Corp. (PPL) to push back their timetables for building nuclear power plants using the new reactor technology, though both of these companies say their plans currently remain on track. More than a decade after the last commercial nuclear reactor was completed in the U.S., such delays could lead to the kinds of cost overruns that plagued developers in the first wave of U.S. nuclear power plant construction.