Westinghouse appears closer to a deal to build 26 of the company's AP1000 reactors at inland sites in China for an estimated $20 billion.
Westinghouse CEO Danny Roderick said Chinese officials visiting the Pennsylvania company last week made clear that they intend to move forward with the plants when the first AP1000s approach completion by the end of next year. He also told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the Chinese government is eager to accelerate reactor construction as part of efforts to reduce reliance on coal.
Westinghouse is already in negotiations to build eight additional AP1000s at coastal sites. Approvals for all inland plants were suspended until 2015 during an overhaul of China's nuclear regulatory system following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accidents in Japan. Earlier energy plans had envisioned at least 30 additional AP1000s would follow construction of the initial slate of coastal plants, according to the World Nuclear Association. Though Westinghouse emphasized talks remain preliminary, they suggest China is ready to resume planning for large-scale deployment of the AP1000 technology at sites around the country.