Proven technology, not a science project.
A pressurized-water reactor, the most common type in the U.S. Its safety systems use gravity, natural circulation and condensation rather than pumps and generators.
What the design does
The design’s certification document, the AP1000 Design Control Document (Tier 2, Chapter 6), states that “the passive core cooling system can maintain safe shutdown conditions for 72 hours after an event without operator action and without both nonsafety-related onsite and offsite power.”
Two AP1000 units have operated at Plant Vogtle in Georgia since 2023 and 2024.
Choosing an operating reactor design removes one category of risk. It does not remove the challenges of financing, licensing, engineering, supply chain management or construction.
From Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents
“Certified” means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the standard design. Each site still needs its own license.
The same family as Shippingport
Shippingport, which sent the first full-scale nuclear power to American customers from the Ohio River in 1957, was also a Westinghouse-built pressurized-water reactor.
That is history, not a partnership.
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