Planning and Licensing

New nuclear power plant projects require long-range planning, appropriate budgets and adequate time for project execution.

As a first step, Westinghouse can provide objective information about the future development of nuclear energy in your part of the world and the various technology options for new nuclear plants.

As a next step, we can provide a comprehensive site assessment to confirm the feasibility of placing a new power plant on your selected site(s). This usually includes evaluating and analyzing information about the local and regional geographic, hydrologic, geological, geotechnical, and other environmental conditions critical to safe, reliable, and economical plant siting. An analysis also can be performed of the economical effectiveness of the construction of a new nuclear unit and information about how the capital infusion in the region would improve the quality of life and result in positive socioeconomic development. This can include examination of everything from education, training and availability of the local work force; development of local suppliers; development of infrastructure to support plant construction and installation; to public opinion about nuclear plant construction.

Licensing support for your project is another service Westinghouse offers. We can provide a high degree of licensing certainty based on our years of experience with licensing of new power plants and power plant technology. This experience, stemming from the full scope of design, licensing, and delivery capabilities, gives Westinghouse a unique and intimate understanding of the value and burden of the regulatory process in licensing reviews, preliminary and final design reviews, and design certifications. Westinghouse has a track record of successfully navigating regulatory frameworks to facilitate nuclear power plant design and thus, the staff and institutional competency in regulatory licensing management.

Reviewed by multiple regulators around the world, the AP1000 reactor is the only Generation III+ reactor designed to obtain design certification and a construction and operating license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The AP1000 plant design also has been independently assessed and confirmed to meet the requirements of the European Utilities Requirements document and the Electric Power Research Institute Advanced Light Water Reactor Utility Requirements Document. The design has also completed its final review by China’s Nuclear Security Administration.

Additional planning activities such as an Early Works Agreement with Westinghouse can improve overall project certainty by addressing areas that could negatively impact construction and plant licensing such as site licensing, site characterization, logistics, local codes and standards as well as critical supply challenges.