The 278t reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for unit 2 of the US Virgil C Summer NPP in South Carolina was lifted into place on 30 August, equipment supplier Westinghouse Electric Company said yesterday. The project has moved from structural work to assembly of the unit’s reactor system, including pumps, piping and cabling, equipment supplier Westinghouse said. Scana Corporation, the project’s developer, said this is the first installation of an RPV at a new nuclear station in the US “in more than 30 years”. Two 1,117MWe AP1000s are being built at VC Summer for Scana Corporation subsidiary South Carolina Electricity and Gas and co-owner Santee Cooper. Westinghouse is the contractor for the project, and Fluor is the construction manager. Construction began on both units in 2013, with unit 2 expected to begin operation in 2019 and unit 3 in 2020. A single pressurised water reactor unit has been operating at the site since 1984.
