Areva Inc has announced a five-year deal that will see it become the comprehensive supplier of services and products for Progress Energy's four nuclear power plants.
.jpg "Brunswick (Progress)") |
| The Brunswick plant (Image: Progress Energy) |
The deal will see Areva provide refuelling and outage services, replace and repair plant equipment, and provide engineering and maintenance support plus other technical services to Progress Energy's plants in North and South Carolina and Florida.
The four plants (Brunswick, Crystal River, Harris and Robinson) between them are home to five nuclear units: two boiling water reactors (BWRs) and three pressurised water reactors (PWRs). Progress Energy has also submitted a combined construction and operating licence (COL) application for a nuclear new build project at Levy in Florida, and earlier this year signed a construction contract for the project to build two AP1000 reactors at the site with a Westinghouse-Shaw consortium.
According to Areva, Progress Energy will begin to transition from other support service providers with the new framework taking full effect from 2010.
Areva NP Inc president and CEO Mike Rencheck described the alliance as a "natural partnership", while Progress Energy senior vice president and chief nuclear operator Jim Scarola said the partnership would provide an improved quality and more cost-effective service.