Westinghouse AP1000 Design Receives US Licensing Extension to 2046

Westinghouse Electric Company announced today that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has extended the design certification for its advanced AP1000® large modular reactor to February 2046.

Design certifications are licensing approvals by the NRC allowing a nuclear power plant design to be built in the U.S. because it meets all regulatory and safety requirements. A valid AP1000 design certification also plays an important role in securing the separate site licenses, construction permits and operating licenses needed to build and operate an AP1000 plant in the U.S. The NRC recently issued a direct final rule changing the duration of design certifications from 15 to 40 years.

“The expansion of the AP1000 design certification to 40 years further positions the advanced AP1000 modular reactor as the leading solution to meet the bold vision of the U.S. to have 10 large-scale reactors under construction by 2030,” said Dan Lipman, President, Westinghouse Energy Systems. “In addition, the extension establishes a long-term licensing path to deploy our AP1000 technology abroad by providing international regulators with an established design that has already met rigorous safety standards. With the proven and operational AP1000 reactor fully licensed for the foreseeable future, Westinghouse can begin deployment work immediately with our partners to rapidly deliver multiple AP1000 units at the same time.”

The advanced AP1000 reactor is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. There are six AP1000 reactors currently setting operational performance and availability records worldwide with 14 additional reactors under construction and five more under contract. The AP1000 technology has been selected for nuclear energy programs in Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria, and is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America.