PITTSBURGH, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company announced today that its expects its participation in a nuclear-focused trade mission to India next week to be the beginning of a long and mutually rewarding relationship with a wide range of Indian power companies, suppliers and academic institutions.
The trade mission, sponsored by the U.S.-India Business Council in cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Institute, begins Dec. 2 in New Delhi and concludes Dec. 9 in Mumbai.
In commenting on the mission, Meena Mutyala, Vice President and Business Leader, India, for Westinghouse, said the company views the market in India in the most favorable light.
"With 17 operating plants and six under construction, India's nuclear infrastructure is vibrant," she said. "The demand for new nuclear generation is high and we are pleased to be able to participate in providing electricity to this fast-growing economy, and we will do so in a manner that further strengthens India's already-solid nuclear power infrastructure."
Ms. Mutyala said Westinghouse will enter the market in India with its AP1000(TM) nuclear power plant.
"Our intent is to use in-country resources in the deployment of AP1000s in India, and to qualify suppliers in India to assist Westinghouse in the construction of AP1000s elsewhere in the world," she said. "Toward that end, we will develop long-term relationships and partnerships with industrial companies, design firms, and academic institutions."
The AP1000, design certified by the NRC in early 2006, is fast becoming the technology of choice in key markets throughout the world. In December 2006, China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation selected Westinghouse to provide two AP1000s each at both the Sanmen and Haiyang sites. Contracts for those plants were signed in July 2007.
In the United States, the AP1000 is the announced technology of choice for no less than 14 new plants, including four for which Engineering; Procurement and Construction contracts have been signed.
"Essentially, the AP1000 is the identified technology for one-half of the plants announced in the United States," she said. "We attribute this worldwide success to the numerous safety and operational benefits of the AP1000 and to our business model, which mandates that we source as much as possible from the countries and regions in which we are building new plants."
Westinghouse believes the AP1000 is ideally suited for the worldwide nuclear power marketplace, as it is:
-- A passively safe design that employs natural forces -- natural circulation, gravity, convection and compressed gas -- to maintain safety in the highly unlikely event of an accident.
-- Based on standard Westinghouse pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology that has achieved more than 2,500 reactor years of highly successful operation.
-- An 1100MWe design that is ideal for providing baseload generating capacity.
-- Modular in design, promoting ready standardization and high construction quality.
-- Economical to construct and maintain (less concrete and steel and fewer components and systems mean there is less to install, inspect and maintain).
-- Designed to promote ease of operation (features most advanced instrumentation and control (I&C) in the industry).
During her career, Ms. Mutyala has been responsible for a number of major initiatives, including leading the acquisition by Westinghouse of the global nuclear businesses of ABB. She has also served as the Plant Manager of the Westinghouse Specialty Metals Plant, which manufactures components for commercial nuclear fuel.
Earlier in her career, she held a number of increasingly responsible nuclear power-related positions in Europe and the United States.
In addition to her degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, she holds a master's in nuclear engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.; and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2005, she was honored by the Indian Institute of Technology with the distinguished alumnus award.
Accompanying Ms. Mutyala on this delegation as Westinghouse representatives are Robert Pearce and Krish Rajan.
For more information about the Westinghouse AP1000, visit its Web site at http://www.ap1000.westinghousenuclear.com.
Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation, is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for well over 40 percent of the world's operating nuclear plants, including 60 percent of those in the United States.
SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company
