Factory Workers Build Plants, Then Ship Them to Jobsites
Energy companies and builders are laying a foundation for the next round of nuclear powerplants in the U.S., making serious commitments of almost $500 million in recent months. Similar to an overseas investment trend, assembly plants for new reactors will produce finished modules that will be shipped to nearby construction sites. Construction of the first modules—not expected to go online until 2017—is to begin next year.
The Shaw Group Inc. announced in August that it, with Monroeville, Pa.-based Westinghouse Electric Co., will construct a $100-million plant in Lake Charles, La., to build modular components for the 1,100-MW AP1000, Toshiba Westinghouse’s Generation III+ pressurized-water reactor. In October, Paris-based Areva NP announced it would work with Los Angeles’ Northrop Grumman Corp. at Newport News, Va., to build a $360-million facility to build components for its 1,600-MW U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor. And GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, N.C., is in talks with several U.S. firms with experience in module fabrication to help build its 1,370-MW Gen.-III Advanced Boiling-Water Reactor.