8 Jan (NucNet): US utility Arizona Public Service Company (APS) has signed a $250 million (€212 million) contract with Westinghouse for the fabrication and delivery of its next generation fuel for three nuclear reactor units at the Palo Verde nuclear station in Arizona.
Westinghouse said its next generation fuel, known as CE16NGF, incorporates proprietary materials such as advanced cladding material and burnable absorbers, and advances in structural design that improve the fuel’s efficiency and reliability while also increasing its service life.
The company said CE16NGF provides “improved economic performance and greater operational flexibility in fuel duty, thermal margin and uprate capability”.
The three Palo Verde units are pressurised water reactor units provided by Combustion Engineering, a company whose nuclear business was bought by Westinghouse in 2000. The fuel has operated successfully in two other Combustion Engineering units in the US using a 16 x16 array for bundling the fuel rods to assemblies, Westinghouse said.
Westinghouse is already the fuel fabricator for the three-reactor Palo Verde station and the new contract is an extension of the existing one.
