View Images of the China projects here.

The construction of Westinghouse AP1000™ plants in China continued in December with the successful completion of the first pour of basemat structural concrete for the nuclear island of Unit 2 at the Sanmen site in China, and placement of the Containment Vessel Bottom Head for Unit 1.

Placement of the basemat structural concrete for Unit 2 was completed on December 17, seven hours ahead of schedule and more than one month ahead of the contract schedule date of January 31, 2010. The resulting structure will serve as the foundation for all of the nuclear island buildings, including the containment vessel and the shield building.

Additionally, the Containment Vessel Bottom Head (CVBH) for Sanmen Unit 1 was successfully placed. The CVBH, which weighs approximately 700 tons, was assembled at an on-site facility at Sanmen, then moved to the Unit 1 nuclear island area and placed using a large crane.

"The completion of these important milestones reaffirms the long-term partnership between Westinghouse and our Chinese customers that will provide the people of China with additional clean sources of power generation built on the pillars of safety, energy security, and investment in the local economy,” said Ric Pérez, senior vice president, Westinghouse Nuclear Power Plants. “We remain committed to safely bringing the first AP1000 plant online in 2013 – on time and within budget.”

Sanmen is the site of two Westinghouse AP1000 units that are being built under a contract signed in 2007 for four AP1000 units. Two other AP1000 units are currently under construction at Haiyang, China, and Westinghouse and China are currently in discussion on plans for more AP1000 plants to be sited inland of China's coastal areas. Additionally, Westinghouse and the AP1000 have been identified as the supplier and technology of choice for no less than 14 AP1000 units that have been announced in the United States, including six for which engineering, procurement and construction contracts have been signed.

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At Westinghouse, managing risk is a part of everyday life. Sometimes these decisions are made automatically with little thought: Is it OK to cross the street? Shall I ride the rollercoaster at the amusement park? Will it be raining when I leave the building? At other times, though, some analysis may be required: Should I invest my 401k in stock funds? Should I purchase insurance to protect my family assets?

It’s also understood that risk is a consideration for Westinghouse customers contemplating a new AP1000 nuclear power plant. With the nuclear renaissance increasing the number of new nuclear plant construction projects globally, the need for managing the risk associated with these projects is a priority. Westinghouse realizes that managing risk for customers starts by internally managing risk across the company.

This is why Westinghouse has been examining the benefits of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), which has become a hot topic of conversation in corporations across the globe. Enterprise Risk Management seeks to improve an organization’s capability and coordination of risk functions for the purpose of increasing its value to customers and other stakeholders.

In order to provide the value that Enterprise Risk Management can deliver, Westinghouse contracted with a risk consulting firm in 2008 to identify areas for improvement in risk management. One of the recommendations that came from that study was to establish an integrated, project-risk-management process capable of addressing the entirety of risks across a project. A Customer 1^st project was initiated in January to define Nuclear Power Plants' (NPP) risk profile and to develop a comprehensive risk-management framework that would be adopted across the organization.

The Customer 1^st team conducted a comprehensive assessment of industry best practices and standards, then drafted a Risk Management Framework, which is tailored to the specifics of the NPP business and its risk management objectives.

The framework integrates risk management by aligning people, processes and tools throughout the organization at all levels and provides for continuous improvement as NPP progresses through the various stages of risk-management process maturity. The framework will also guide NPP in managing its risks through the application of the standard risk‑management process at varying levels and within specific areas of the business. In addition, NPP has deployed a robust Risk Management Information System that is helping standardize the risk-management activities across the organization and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coordination and communication about risk.

The NPP risk management framework was recently reviewed by an outside consultant and was found to be in line with NPP’s goal of becoming a world-class, risk-management organization.

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The licensing process for the Westinghouse AP1000 is continuing along a successful path of bringing the first plants online in the early part of the next decade in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

In the U.K, the Nuclear Regulators Generic Design Assessment (GDA) Step 3 Report was recently published, and it confirms that no “show-stopper” issues have been identified for the AP1000 reactor design as it progresses through the licensing review. The Step 3 report clearly demonstrates that the licensing process in the U.K. is very comprehensive and detailed.

Mike Tynan, Westinghouse U.K. CEO said: “These reports demonstrate unequivocally that the UK regulatory process for potential new reactor designs is working as intended. That should provide great confidence to the UK public and investors that the highest levels of safety, security and environmental protection can be expected from any new nuclear build in the UK.

Westinghouse has recently taken steps to strengthen its GDA team in advance of the final and most complex Step 4 in the GDA process. In addition to implementing a more focused project management approach, Westinghouse has also appointed Simon Marshall as GDA Project Director. Simon is responsible for the overall delivery of Westinghouse's efforts in the GDA process, with the ultimate goal of a successful licensing outcome in the U.K.

In the United States, Westinghouse is working closely with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Design Amendment Certification.

In October, the NRC informed Westinghouse that the proposed design of the AP1000 shield building would require either additional analysis, testing or actual design modifications to ensure compliance with NRC requirements.

Westinghouse anticipates issuing an official revised AP1000 Shield Building report to the NRC in February 2010. Once the shield building report is submitted, the NRC will complete its review and document its acceptability in the Safety Evaluation Report (SER). Westinghouse expects that this process will have little or no impact on the DCD amendment and COL schedule.

Westinghouse continues to work toward its goal of receiving Design Amendment Certification from the NRC in 2011, and it continues to work to bring the first AP1000s online in the United States in the 2016 timeframe.

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Sanmen, China

• Work continues on CA20 and equipment module preparation for placement of concrete in the wall sections; concrete placement is scheduled during December; assembly of Modules CA01 and 04 continues.

Haiyang, China

• First Concrete placement completed on Sept. 26, four days ahead of schedule; CVBH (Containment Vessel Bottom Head) plates fabrication completed and site assembly started. All plates have been positioned on the assembly rack with the exception of two pieces, and welding of the plates is underway.

VC Summer, South Carolina, United States

• Initial clearing, grubbing and grading continues; construction of the Mayo Creek bridge continues (on schedule).

Vogtle, Georgia, United States

• Commenced excavation of an estimated 4 million cubic yard excavation of Unit 3 and 4 sites to depth of approximately 90 ft with a target to complete excavation by January 2010 and commence backfill.

View images of China and U.S. projects here

View Southern Nuclear’s new Web page detailing its plans for nuclear energy here

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