Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the signing of an exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Czech construction company Metrostav, in preparation for the potential construction of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic.
Westinghouse and Metrostav will work together exclusivelyon areas of the development and submittal of the Westinghouse submission to CEZ for the completion of the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant, based on AP1000 reactor technology. The MOU covers key aspects of the construction and project management scope for the project.
Speaking for Westinghouse, the company's President for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region, Yves Brachet said: "It gives me great pleasure to announce this exclusive agreement with another highly-respected and immensely capable Czech company.
“As we prepare to submit a formal proposal to CEZ this year for completion of the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant, it can clearly be seen that we are taking a series of important steps to make sure we have key elements of our delivery team and our supply chain in place to ensure that the project will be a success.”
The use of local suppliers cannot be used as a factor in the selection process, because European competition rules forbid it. Nevertheless, said Brachet, “Localization is at the heart of our approach to new nuclear plant construction. That is why we have the policy of ‘We Buy Where We Build’ and this announcement is yet another demonstration of that approach in action."
Pavel Pilat, Metrostav member of the board of directors and chief executing officer said: "The Temelin project undoubtedly represents an immense opportunity for the Czech industry as well as for Metrostav. I am very pleased indeed to announce the signing of this memorandum with Westinghouse, the world leader in nuclear technology. I strongly believe that by joining our efforts with Westinghouse we can form a powerful team that will be successful in this tender."
Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately a half of the world's operating nuclear plants.
The Westinghouse AP1000 reactor received final design certification from the US regulator – the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – on 22 December 2011. The previous week, the AP1000 was awarded interim approvals in the UK Generic Design Assessment process by UK safety and environmental regulators.
AP1000 is one of two designs currently being considered for potential new nuclear build in Britain. Contracts have been placed around the world for a total of ten AP1000 plants to date – four in China and six in the US. All four Chinese plants are under construction and remain on schedule, with the first plant, at Sanmen in China, on track to produce electricity in 2013.
