U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry in a trip to India this week said that Westinghouse Electric Company was preparing to emerge from bankruptcy and that its financial restructuring would not interfere with the company's ability to supply support and service for six future reactors in India.
The deal with Westinghouse and the Indian government has been in development since 2016. Prior to that, the project in Kovvada in Andra Predesh involved development of six GE Hitachi ESBWR reactors. However, in 2016, the direction changed with India turning to Westinghouse for development of six AP1000 reactors.
Perry endorsed the deal specifically and the industry in general. “The Trump administration thinks nuclear energy is very important. It's important domestically. It's important internationally.”
“You are going to see the U.S. going forward into our partnerships with various countries and India is at the top of that list,” he said.
Indian government officials also affirmed the country's committment to the Kovvada project.