Toshiba establishes U.S. unit to promote its nuclear power business
Rising oil prices and worries about the environment have renewed interest in nuclear power generation; more than 30 new nuclear plants will be built in the United States in the coming years; Toshiba plans to benefit from this trend
Interest in nuclear power generation increases, and Toshiba Corporation has established a new company just outside Washington, D.C. to enhance its nuclear power business in the United States. The company, Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation, started operation this month, with the primary mission of marketing and promoting advanced boiling water (ABWR) nuclear power plants and providing support services. As the business develops, Toshiba also plans to expand the scope of the new company’s operations to provide plant design and procurement support for future nuclear power plants.
In the United States, major utilities have announced plans to build more than thirty new nuclear power plants in the coming years. Toshiba and Westinghouse, a Toshiba Group company, are responding to the trend by attempting to win orders for both advanced boiling water reactors (ABWR) and pressurized water reactors and their related systems. Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation started operating with an initial staff of about thirty, a figure which will increase as work on nuclear power plants by U.S. utilities gathers pace. Construction is expected to reach full swing around 2011, and at that time, Toshiba will also establish engineering liaison offices near construction sites and further build up its marketing force.
The new company will also handle licensing for the 4S, a new type of small system it has developed for nuclear power generation. Looking further into the future, Toshiba also plans to expand the scope of the operations of the company in preparation for possible participation in the Next-Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project.
