“Nuclear energy is a clean, cost-effective and reliable source of baseload power”, said Westinghouse President and CEO Dr. Aris S. Candris
Westinghouse Electric Company President and CEO Dr. Aris S. Candris addressed the company's 15,000 global employees and delivered a message of optimism for the nuclear energy industry.
One of the primary topics of the address was the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. While Dr. Candris acknowledged that the crisis may result in a period of review and reassessment of nuclear energy, he stressed that utilities and governments remain committed to a long-term nuclear energy plan.
"Nuclear energy is a clean, cost-effective and reliable source of baseload power," he said. "It is the only source of electricity generation that produces no greenhouse gases, manages 100 percent of its waste stream, and has the infrastructure in place to meet the world's growing need for electricity." Dr. Candris also noted that the Westinghouse AP1000® technology has received favorable attention for its modular design and advanced passive safety features, which enable the plant to shut down safely and automatically with no operator actions even in the event of a Fukushima-like loss of all on-site and off-site power.
Westinghouse continues to lead the industry in technology development and new plant deployment. Among the company's recent successes are the continuing on-schedule and on-budget construction of four new AP1000 units in China, the ongoing site preparation work at the V. C. Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina (USA) and the Alvin W. Vogtle site in Georgia (USA), and the introduction of the company's new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design.
Dr. Candris also stressed that even though the new plant segment of the nuclear energy industry receives a preponderance of media interest and coverage, the company's fuel, services and automation businesses remain vibrant. "Providing technology, products and services to even further improve the safety and operational aspects of the existing global fleet of plants remains our primary objective," he said. "We will continue to make long-term investments in these product lines as we envision a strong future in all market segments."
This year (2011) marks the 125th anniversary of Westinghouse Electric Company, which was founded in March of 1886 by George Westinghouse, who was known in his time as the world's greatest living engineer.