Westinghouse AP1000 Nuclear Plant Breaks A First Refueling Outage Record

NEW YORK -

Westinghouse Electric Company today announced that Sanmen Unit 2, one of the world's first AP1000® nuclear power plants, has set a new refueling outage record in the global nuclear power industry, completing its initial outage in 28.14 days.

"Our innovative AP1000 technology allows for simplified systems and significantly reduces the amount of equipment, while improving the safety, reliability and economic efficiency of this nuclear power plant," said Gavin Liu, president of the Westinghouse Asia Operating Plant Services Business. "We are delighted to see the first refueling outage for Sanmen Unit 2 was completed in less than 30 days. This is a great achievement for Sanmen Nuclear Power Company and further demonstrates the outstanding performance of AP1000 design."

All four units of the AP1000 nuclear power plants in China have completed their first refueling outages in the past 18 months.  The duration of each subsequent outage has fallen significantly - from 46.66 days on the first outage to 28.14 days on Sanmen Unit 2.

"During the first AP1000 refueling outage at the Sanmen site in December 2019, a Westinghouse team of experts worked side-by-side with the Sanmen outage team to partner on outage optimization, and immediately set a new standard for a first-of-a-kind outage," said Miao Yamin, chairman of CNNC Sanmen Nuclear Power Company Limited. "Lessons learned were openly exchanged between our teams on each subsequent outage, which has built to this impressive achievement."

Westinghouse provided urgent technical support on critical issues during the outage, to help ensure that work was carried out on schedule with no impact to critical path.

In addition to the four AP1000 units in China, two units are under construction at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, USA.

Related News

powerlines

Data Center Boom Poses a Power Challenge for U.S. Utilities

WASHINGTON - U.S. electric utilities are facing a significant new challenge as the explosive growth of data centers puts unprecedented strain on power grids across the nation. According to a new report from Reuters, data centers' power demands are expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, raising concerns about grid reliability and potential increases in electricity costs for businesses and consumers.


What's Driving the Data Center Surge?

The explosion in data centers is being fueled by several factors:

  • Cloud Computing: The rise of cloud computing services, where businesses and individuals store and process data on…

    READ MORE
lightning bolts

Big prizes awarded to European electricity prediction specialists

READ MORE

dubai energy meeting

Dubai Planning Large-Scale Solar Powered Hydrogen Production

READ MORE

ev impact

Energy storage poised to tackle grid challenges from rising EVs as mobile chargers bring new flexibility

READ MORE

Puerto Rico power workers

Electricity restored to 75 percent of customers in Puerto Rico

READ MORE