ABWR delivery deal

’s US subsidiary, America Nuclear Energy, has secured a contract with STP Nuclear Operating Company (

) for the delivery of two advanced boiling-water reactor (ABWR) nuclear power plants.

The agreement will see America Nuclear Energy deliver the US’s first ABWRs to the South Texas Project (STP) units three and four in Texas.

Each plant will have a 1,400MW capacity. Operation at units three and four is expected to begin in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Yasuharu Igarashi, president and chief executive of Toshiba’s Power Systems Company, said: ‘We are very pleased to take our involvement in the STP units three and four projects to the next level. We look forward to working closely with STPNOC through our US subsidiary, and to establishing the ABWR as a key power-generation option in the US.’

The STP currently consists of two reactors owned by US utilities CPS Energy, NRG Energy and Austin Energy. Toshiba was selected as prime contractor for the project in March 2008.

Igarashi added: ‘We are confident that expertise in ABWR plant construction and project management cultivated in Japan will allow us to meet STPNOC’s requirements. Toshiba group, including Westinghouse Electric Company, will continue to promote the nuclear power business and its capabilities, not least its CO₂-free emissions, and to support potential customers worldwide.’

The deal forms part of Toshiba’s wider nuclear energy plans. The company has said that it expects orders of at least 33 nuclear power reactors by 2015, particularly from markets in the UK, US, South Africa and China.