– Edited By Tom Lamar-
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review an application requesting a 15-year renewal of the design certification for the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR).
The NRC certified the ABWR in 1997 as being acceptable for use in the United States. A design certification is valid for 15 years and can be renewed for an additional 10 to 15 years. Toshiba Corporation submitted the renewal application on Nov. 2.
Docketing the ABWR renewal application does not indicate whether the Commission will approve or reject the request. The NRC has established docket number 52-044 for this application.
The South Texas Project expansion is planned to use ABWR technology for two new nuclear power units in the US. The Shaw Group Inc. and Toshiba Corporation announced a strategic partnership last month which gave Shaw certain exclusive opportunities for providing engineering, procurement and construction services for Toshiba’s ABWR nuclear power plants worldwide, except Japan and Vietnam.