NRC renews Westinghouse AP1000 design certification through 2066
The revision incorporates Vogtle construction experience, with a Dec. 28 effective date conditional on the NRC comment process.
Ines Halvorsen
A 40-year renewal through 2066 for Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design was published Wednesday by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, extending certification for the business partly owned by Cameco Corporation TSECCO NYSECCJ. Cameco’s exposure comes through its 49 per cent interest in privately held Westinghouse Electric Company, which it reports using equity accounting.
The renewal incorporates design changes and experience from building and operating Georgia’s Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The NRC said future applicants could use the updated design instead of seeking separate approval for changes it has already evaluated.
Cameco shares traded lower at C$117.98 in Toronto at 9:33 a.m. EDT on Oct. 16, according to Google Finance’s TSECCO quote.
The direct final rule is scheduled to take effect Dec. 28 unless the NRC receives significant adverse comments by Nov. 13. It does not authorize the siting, construction or operation of a reactor.
Westinghouse supplies reactor technology, equipment, nuclear fuel and services to utilities and government agencies. Cameco describes its New Plants business as providing design, engineering, licensing and procurement services, including for the AP1000. The certification therefore concerns the technology underlying that business, rather than a new customer order.
Read more: Cameco Corporation's Westinghouse begins Polish AP1000 procurement
Vogtle Changes Enter The Standard Design
The rule incorporates Revision 20 of the AP1000 design control document, which defines the reactor’s standard technical design. Its stated purpose is to bring the certification into line with changes made during Vogtle’s licensing, construction and operation.
Westinghouse announced the submission on April 6, identifying Vogtle Unit 4 as the standard reference plant for future U.S. AP1000 deployments. The company said the document aligns the design with reactors already in commercial operation.
During construction and startup at Vogtle, the NRC reviewed and approved nearly 200 licence amendments. The renewed certification incorporates applicable changes from that experience, giving future applicants a common reference that reflects what was built.
“The action gives future applicants a standardized, field-proven AP1000 design that reflects how the reactors were actually constructed and operated,” the NRC said in its Oct. 14 announcement.
The NRC says the update is intended to reduce duplicated reviews and licensing costs. Its announcement provides no quantified saving or construction schedule for a future reactor, so the certification alone does not establish when another unit would enter service.
Developers must still obtain NRC approval for site-specific environmental, safety and security considerations. Those approvals remain separate from certification of the standard reactor design, even when an applicant uses the revised AP1000 documentation.
The agency is using a direct final rule because it considers the action non-controversial. Comments on the rule will also count as comments on a companion proposed rule published in the same Federal Register issue. The published rule also issues an environmental assessment supporting the renewal.
Comments under docket NRC-2026-2377 are due Nov. 13. If significant adverse comments require withdrawal, the NRC says it will publish a withdrawal notice and address them in a subsequent final rule; otherwise, the scheduled effective date is Dec. 28.
