nuclear-news

Toshiba’s business mistake in making nuclear power a centrepiece of its future

Toshiba hit by nuclear plant delays , THE AUSTRALIAN, BRIAN SPEGELE, The Wall Street Journal. January 2, 2017   Toshiba’s ambitions to make nuclear power a centrepiece of its future have instead led to an accounting scandal and billions of dollars in potential losses.

For clues to what happened, the reactor being built by its Westinghouse Electric division in a seaside town south of Shanghai offers an illuminating Exhibit A.

The Sanmen reactor was meant to be the showcase of a new technology that Westinghouse hopes will revolutionise the nuclear industry by making power plants safer, less labour-intensive and quicker to build.

Instead, the first so-called AP1000 reactor has been bedevilled by delays. In one instance, a critical component in its cooling system failed, slowing work by more than two years. Meanwhile, Westinghouse struggled for years to complete its design work for the AP1000, adding to delays and angering its Chinese state-owned customer. The reactor is now at least three years behind schedule.

Westinghouse said it aimed to load enriched uranium fuel in the reactor early next year, pushing back its previous year-end goal.

The troubles in Sanmen mirror those at nuclear projects around the world — including four by Westinghouse in the US — that led to this week’s announcement by Toshiba that it is looking at billions of dollars in potential losses, triggering a massive sell-off by investors……….

State Nuclear Power Technology assistant president Zhang Fubao said the company was committed to working with Westinghouse.

Mr Benjamin said proving that the AP1000 works was vital to the company’s future. “The eyes of the world and the eyes of the industry are watching,” he said. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/toshiba-hit-by-nuclear-plant-delays/news-story/86ebad9b6a7e359f7c8d0a6f38f0eca4

January 2, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan