Westinghouse Electric CompanyThe Westinghouse Electric Company is a multi-national nuclear technologies company, a part of the original Westinghouse Electric. The company's operations incorporate various nuclear services, power plants, nuclear fuel, inspection equipment, advanced welding services, and remote handling...
's
AP1000 reactor design is the first
Generation III+ reactorA generation III reactor is a development of any of the generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements in design which have been developed during the lifetime of the generation II reactor designs...
to receive final design approval from the
NRCNuclear Regulatory Commission is a United States government agency that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act in 1974, and was first opened January 19, 1975. The NRC took over the role of oversight of nuclear energy matters and nuclear safety from the AEC, or Atomic Energy Commission...
.
It is an evolutionary improvement on the
AP600The AP600 is a model of relatively small, 600 MWe nuclear power plant designed by Westinghouse Electric Company. The AP600 has passive safety features characteristic of the Generation III reactor concept. The projected core damage frequency is nearly 1000 times less than today's NRC requirements,...
. It is essentially a more powerful model with roughly the same land use.
In the spring of 2007
China National Nuclear Corp.The China Nuclear International Uranium Corporation is a Chinese Government owned corporation involved in prospecting, and eventually mining, overseas sources of Uranium....
selected the Westinghouse/
ShawThe Shaw Group is a Fortune 500 corporation headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As of August 31, 2008, the company employed approximately 26,000 people all over the world...
consortium to build four nuclear reactors for an estimated US$8 billion, the largest International nuclear contract in history.
The AP1000 is a two-loop
PWRPressurized water reactors comprise a majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of two types of light water reactor , the other type being boiling water reactors . In a PWR the primary coolant is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core, then the heated water transfers...
planned to produce a net 1154 MWe.
The safety systems apply passive protection, which is designed to yield such a high degree of safety that no emergency diesel generators are required to provide equipment with power in the case that electrical power is lost.
Westinghouse Electric CompanyThe Westinghouse Electric Company is a multi-national nuclear technologies company, a part of the original Westinghouse Electric. The company's operations incorporate various nuclear services, power plants, nuclear fuel, inspection equipment, advanced welding services, and remote handling...
's
AP1000 reactor design is the first
Generation III+ reactorA generation III reactor is a development of any of the generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements in design which have been developed during the lifetime of the generation II reactor designs...
to receive final design approval from the
NRCNuclear Regulatory Commission is a United States government agency that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act in 1974, and was first opened January 19, 1975. The NRC took over the role of oversight of nuclear energy matters and nuclear safety from the AEC, or Atomic Energy Commission...
.
It is an evolutionary improvement on the
AP600The AP600 is a model of relatively small, 600 MWe nuclear power plant designed by Westinghouse Electric Company. The AP600 has passive safety features characteristic of the Generation III reactor concept. The projected core damage frequency is nearly 1000 times less than today's NRC requirements,...
. It is essentially a more powerful model with roughly the same land use.
In the spring of 2007
China National Nuclear Corp.The China Nuclear International Uranium Corporation is a Chinese Government owned corporation involved in prospecting, and eventually mining, overseas sources of Uranium....
selected the Westinghouse/
ShawThe Shaw Group is a Fortune 500 corporation headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As of August 31, 2008, the company employed approximately 26,000 people all over the world...
consortium to build four nuclear reactors for an estimated US$8 billion, the largest International nuclear contract in history.
Design specifications
The AP1000 is a two-loop
PWRPressurized water reactors comprise a majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of two types of light water reactor , the other type being boiling water reactors . In a PWR the primary coolant is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core, then the heated water transfers...
planned to produce a net 1154 MWe.
The safety systems apply passive protection, which is designed to yield such a high degree of safety that no emergency diesel generators are required to provide equipment with power in the case that electrical power is lost. In the event of an accident, the AP1000 requires no operator intervention for a significant period of time, which reduces the chance of human error and also allows time for off-site assistance to be mobilized, if required. Safety is also enhanced by using modern, reliable devices. The probability of failures is further decreased by applying several different types of systems. Thus the effect of potential intrinsic failures can be avoided.
The safety systems in the AP1000 are passive, relying on things like gravity and natural recirculation rather than active systems such as pumps.
The Passive Core Cooling System (PCCS) is the AP1000's passive analogue to the Emergency Core Cooling System used in currently operating reactors. The PCCS is passive because none of its systems rely on AC power, and the actuation for the safety systems is automatic. The valves required for alignment are usually fail-safe and always powered by energy stored in batteries, springs, or compressed gas.
The design is less expensive to build partly because it uses existing technology. The design also decreases the number of components, including pipes, wires, and valves. Standardization and type-licensing should also help reduce the time and cost of construction. Because of its simplified design, the AP1000 has:
- 50% fewer safety-related valves
- 35% fewer pumps
- 80% less safety related piping
- 85% less control cable
- 45% less building volume
In December 2005, the
Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission is a United States government agency that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act in 1974, and was first opened January 19, 1975. The NRC took over the role of oversight of nuclear energy matters and nuclear safety from the AEC, or Atomic Energy Commission...
approved the final design certification for the AP1000.
This means that prospective builders can apply for a
Combined Construction and Operating LicenseThe Combined Construction and Operating License replaced the previous Draft Regulatory Guide 1145 as the licensing process for new nuclear power plants in the United States...
(COL) before construction starts, whose validity is conditional upon the plant being built as designed, and that each AP1000 should be virtually identical.
Probabilistic risk assessmentProbabilistic risk assessment is a systematic and comprehensive methodology to evaluate risks associated with a complex engineered technological entity ....
was used in the design of the plants. This enabled minimization of risks, and calculation of the overall safety of the plant. (The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing a new safety study, and believes that these plants will be orders of magnitude safer than the last study,
NUREG-1150NUREG-1150 is an improvement on WASH-1400 and CRAC-II using the results of plant-specific Probabilistic Risk Assessments...
.) The AP1000 has a maximum
core damage frequencyCore damage frequency is a term used in probabilistic risk assessment that indicates the likelihood of an accident that would cause damage to a nuclear reactor core. Core damage accidents are considered serious because damage to the core may prevent control of the nuclear reaction, which can lead...
of 2.41 × 10
–7 per plant per year.
The AP1000 will be manufactured in modules designed for rail or barge shipment. This will allow constructing many modules in parallel. The plant is designed to have fuel load 36 months after concrete is first poured. This construction period is much shorter than generation II designs. If achieved, it should greatly decrease the interest costs needed to build the plant. Such reductions would make the design much more economically competitive against other power sources than previous generation nuclear plants.
Nuclear waste
Nuclear waste produced by the AP1000 can be stored indefinitely in water on the plant site.
China
- The Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant
The Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station under construction in Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province in China. Groundbreaking for the first and second units was held February 26, 2008, and construction is planned to start on the third and fourth units during 2009...
in ZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
will have at least four units. Site construction for the first two began in February 2008; operation is scheduled for 2013–15.
- The Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant
Two units at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant are under construction in Haiyang, Shandong province, China. It is planned to go online in 2014 and will be the second site to house AP1000 units, after the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant. Groundbreaking happened one month ahead of schedule on...
in ShandongFor the people of Shandong, see Shandong people' is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is Lǔ, after the state of Lu that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
also has 2 units planned, with construction started in July 2008, for operation in 2014 or 2015.
China has officially adopted the AP1000 as a standard for inland nuclear projects. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has already approved several nuclear projects, including the Daban plant in
Hubei' is a central province of the People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is 鄂 , an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin Dynasty. The name Hubei means "north of the lake", referring to Hubei's position north of Lake Dongting...
province, Taohuajiang in
Hunan' is a province of China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, and Pengze in
Jiangxi' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
. The NDRC is studying additional projects in
AnhuiAnhui is a province of the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
,
Jilin' , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
and
Gansu' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It lies between Quinghai, Inner Mongolia, and the Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes the southern part of the province. It has a population of nearly 31...
provinces.
China wants to have 100 units under construction and operating by 2020, according to Aris Candris, Westinghouse's CEO.
USA
, Combined Construction and Operating Licenses (COLs) have been filed for twelve AP1000 reactors in the United States, two each at:
- William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station
The William States Lee III Nuclear Station is a planned two-unit nuclear power plant. Duke Energy filed the Combined Construction and Operating License application for the plant on December 13, 2007 to the NRC...
in South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
,
- Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station
The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station is located in Hollywood, Alabama.The two partially-built 1,256 megawatt pressurized water reactors on the site were made by Babcock and Wilcox and are called a 205 design due to the number of fuel assemblies in the core...
in AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its...
,
- Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
The Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is a 2-unit nuclear power plant located in Burke County, near Augusta and Waynesboro, Georgia. It is named after war hero and chairman, Alvin Vogtle....
in GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
.
- Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in South Carolina
South Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
.
- Levy County Nuclear Power Plant
The Levy County Nuclear Power Plant is the umbrella term for a proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County, Florida. Proposed in 2006, Progress Energy Florida announced the selection of in southern Levy County for the potential construction of nuclear reactors...
in FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
,
- Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant
The Shearon Harris Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant with a single Westinghouse designed pressurized-water nuclear reactor operated by Progress Energy...
in North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
.
On April 9, 2008, Georgia Power Company reached a contract agreement with Westinghouse and Shaw for two AP1000 reactors to be built at Vogtle. The contract represents the first agreement for new nuclear development since the
Three Mile Island accidentThe Three Mile Island accident of 1979 was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg...
in 1979. The COL for the Vogtle site will be based on the revision 16 to the AP1000 design, which has not yet been approved by the NRC.
See also
- Nuclear power
Nuclear power is power produced from controlled nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear fission reactions....
- Nuclear safety in the U.S.
- Economics of new nuclear power plants
The economics of new nuclear power plants is a controversial subject, since multi-billion dollar investments ride on the choice of an energy source. Nuclear power plants typically have high capital costs for building the plant, but low fuel costs...
- Nuclear Power 2010 Program
The "Nuclear Power 2010 Program" was unveiled by the U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham on February 14, 2002 as one means towards addressing the expected need for new power plants...
- ESBWR
- AP600
The AP600 is a model of relatively small, 600 MWe nuclear power plant designed by Westinghouse Electric Company. The AP600 has passive safety features characteristic of the Generation III reactor concept. The projected core damage frequency is nearly 1000 times less than today's NRC requirements,...
- European Pressurized Reactor
The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome and Electricité de France in France, and Siemens AG in Germany...
External links
— Westinghouse AP1000 brochure