Doosan Bags $288 Million U.S. Nuclear Plant Order

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Engineering and technological support for a new global wave of nuclear power plant projects is producing equal amounts of fierce competition and project sharing between international companies. As much as U.S., Russian and European companies are looking to the east for markets, the eastern connection is repaying the compliment.

South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (Seoul) has been awarded a $288 million contract by Toshiba Corporation's (OTC:TOSBF) (Tokyo, Japan) Westinghouse Nuclear Services (Monroeville, Pennsylvania) to supply two additional reactors and four steam generators, Units 3 and 4, for the existing Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear plant in Waynesboro, Georgia. The two units will add a combined 2,234 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity to the nuclear power plant.

The plant is operated by Southern Nuclear Company (Birmingham, Alabama), a subsidiary of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia), and owned by four utilities: Georgia Power Company (NYSE:GPW) (Atlanta) (45.7%), a subsidiary of The Southern Company; Oglethorpe Power Corporation (Tucker, Georgia) (30%); the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (Atlanta) (22.7%); and Dalton Utilities (Dalton, Georgia) (1.6%).

Georgia Power and the other co-owners have selected a consortium formed by Westinghouse Nuclear Services (Monroeville, Pennsylvania), and the Shaw Group Incorporated's (NYSE:SGR) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Charlotte, North Carolina, office for the $12 billion project's engineering and construction services.

The new units would use Westinghouse's new AP1000 design instead of the current Westinghouse four-loop system pressurized water reactors being utilized by Vogtle 1 and Vogtle 2. Vogtle 3 and Vogtle 4 will utilize AP1000, which builds and improves upon the established technology of major components used in current Westinghouse-designed plants with proven, reliable operating experience. These components include:

•Steam generators
•Digital instrumentation and controls
•Fuel
•Pressurizes
•Reactor vessels

Simplification was a major design objective for the AP1000. The simplified plant design includes overall safety systems, normal operating systems, the control room, construction techniques, and instrumentation and control systems. The result is a plant that is easier and less expensive to build, operate and maintain.

The AP1000 design saves money and time with an accelerated construction time period of approximately 36 months, from the pouring of first concrete to the loading of fuel. Also, the innovative AP1000 features:

•50% fewer safety-related valves
•80% less safety-related piping
•85% less control cable
•35% fewer pumps
•45% less seismic building volume

Since 1999, when Doosan won its first nuclear-plant-related order in the U.S. for a replacement steam generator at the Sequoyah Unit 1 power plant in Tennessee, it has enlarged its nuclear market scope in the U.S. by supplying the main units for the Watts Bar, ANO, Entergy and Paolo Verde plants. The new units will be manufactured at Doosan's plant at Changwon, South Korea, and are scheduled for delivery by March 2014.

Doosan has been working to strengthen its cooperation with Westinghouse to capitalize on the AP1000 market sector in which 36 new power plants are expected to be built worldwide by 2024. Last year, Doosan won orders to supply the new main generation units for the Sanmen and Haiyang nuclear power projects in China. Tae Woo Kim, Executive Vice President and nuclear power plant head of Doosan, said the company is optimistic about the U.S. nuclear market, which is being driven by high oil prices and environmental protection concerns.

Meanwhile, a 23-member U.S.-Asean Business Council delegation visited Vietnam in the first week of May, and among a range of projects, one company furthered its quest to gain approval from Hanoi's government to build the country's first nuclear plant. The group included executives from General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut), Boeing (NYSE:BA) (Chicago, Illinois), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas), Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan), ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas), FedEx (NYSE:FDX) (Memphis, Tennessee), Ford (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan), IBM (NYSE:IBM) (Armonk, New York) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) (San Diego, California). It was announced that GE will invest $100 million in a project to manufacture wind and gas turbines in Hai Phong City and another member of the delegation was identifying local partners for a high-tech float glass plant geared toward Vietnam's auto industry.

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