Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W NPG) completed the manufacture of the first of two nuclear reactor closure heads as part of a contract to AREVA NP for Pacific Gas & Electric’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.
– By Abby Gessner –
The closure head left The Babcock & Wilcox Company’s (B&W) Mount Vernon, Ind., plant last week en route to California. An ASME N-Stamp-accredited facility, the Mount Vernon facility is the only United States plant that is certified to manufacture heavy pressure vessels for the nuclear industry. B&W NPG is a major operating unit of B&W.
“As anyone who is familiar with nuclear manufacturing in the U.S. will tell you, this is an historic day for our industry domestically,” said Richard E. Reimels, President of B&W NPG. “For many years, the manufacturing of heavy vessels for the nuclear industry has been done outside of the United States. B&W is leading heavy commercial nuclear manufacturing in the United States and is helping to keep manufacturing jobs in our nation. We appreciate AREVA NP’s confidence for this job. We’re looking forward to finishing the second closure head in the first quarter of 2010, and taking on new projects after that.”
B&W began precise cladding, welding, and machining work on the closure head after receiving the forged “blank” head from Japan Steel Works in October 2007. After adding the control rod drive housings, the complete assembly was placed in a protective cover and began its trip to the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The closure heads are being provided to AREVA NP to replace the existing closure heads during a routine maintenance outage at the plant.