First Westinghouse AP1000 Plant Sanmen 1 Begins Commercial Operation

- SANMEN, China, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company and its customers, China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and CNNC Sanmen Nuclear Power Company Limited (SMNPC) announced today that the world's first AP1000 plant located in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, China, is fully operational. "Many years have been dedicated to successfully bringing the first AP1000 unit to life," said José Emeterio Gutiérrez, Westinghouse president and chief executive officer. He added, "Our Westinghouse design and technology is now live and generating safe, clean energy." The AP1000 plant, a Generation III+ two-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR), is considered the most advanced commercially available plant, offering an industry-leading design. The AP1000 plant features a passive safety design, harnessing the laws of nature including gravity and convection to support safe and efficient plant performance. The AP1000 plant is designed to safely and automatically shut down without operator action for up to 72 hours in the event of a design-basis incident. Additionally, Sanmen 1 and the AP1000 fleet effectively incorporate Westinghouse's leading digital instrumentation and controls that enhance the reliability of plant control and safety systems through an integrated, plant-wide approach. The global AP1000 fleet is comprised of Sanmen 1 as well as five additional nuclear power plants progressing through construction, testing and start-up. The projects progressing through testing and start-up include a second unit in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, and two units in Haiyang, Shandong Province, all in China.  Additionally, there are two units currently under construction at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, USA. Westinghouse is providing the design, critical equipment, training and testing for each of the units. Contact: Sarah CassellaManager, External Communications Westinghouse Electric Company Telephone: +1 412-374- 4744 Email: [email protected]