Status of the AP600 pressurized water reactor

This paper reports that in response to initiatives established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for a new generation of smaller, safer, and more economical nuclear reactors, Westinghouse has designed the AP600, an advanced passive pressurized water reactor (PWR) that generates 600 MWe. This advanced design satisfies all the requirements established by DOE and the Advanced Light Water Reactor Utility Requirements Document, and can be available to meet the need for a safe, secure, and affordable power source as early as the mid-1990s. There is maturity and proven technology as well as innovation behind the AP600 design. It is an elegant combination of new natural safety systems and successful technologies based on Westinghouse PWRs that have demonstrated more than 30 years of operating experience with an excellent track record. For example, the AP600 uses the same basic reactor technology and the same advanced digital I and C technology as that used in the Westinghouse APWR (advanced pressurized water reactor) but has replaced many of the powered safety systems with simpler natural safety systems not requiring external power.