Lockheed
Martin Corp. will contribute control room design and construction for
GE and Hitachi's new nuclear reactor design, the companies
announced Wednesday.
Dan
Heller, a Lockheed Martin vice president, characterized the partnership as
the company's return to the civilian nuclear industry in an interview
with Reuters. Lockheed Martin is best known as the word's largest military
contractor.
In
addition to control rooms, the company also will provide simulation
and training support. The partnership is the latest development in
GE Hitachi's Economic
Simplified Boiling Water Reactor project. It is among the new reactor
designs under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
which is expected to make a decision this fall. According to
GE Hitachi, the design has a referenced construction schedule of 42
months.
While
GE Hitachi indicated the design's first deployment likely will take
place outside the U.S., DTE Energy Co. has incorporated the design in
plans for a proposed nuclear plant in Newport, Mich. According to
news reports, Lockheed Martin's design and construction work on the reactor
would take place in Archbald, Pa., and Dallas, with simulation and
training support in Orlando, Fla.