Westinghouse Performs First-of-a-kind BWR Steam Dryer Replacement at Xcel Energy's Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant

PITTSBURGH, June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company today announced that it has successfully installed a replacement steam dryer at Xcel Energy's Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, a single-unit GE-designed boiling water reactor (BWR) located near Monticello, Minnesota (USA), 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. This is the first BWR replacement steam dryer installed by Westinghouse at a U.S. BWR plant.

This first-of-a-kind component was designed by Westinghouse Sweden and modified by Westinghouse's U.S.-based BWR engineering team with support from Toshiba Corporation for use in the American market. The Westinghouse Sweden steam dryer design has more than 200 reactor years of event-free operation and is in use at more than 11 BWR plants throughout Europe and the Nordic Region.

The Monticello replacement steam dryer was fabricated at Toshiba's Keihin facility, in Yokohama, Japan, and was shipped from Yokohama to the U.S. in December 2010, arriving at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant 20 days ahead of schedule. The one-piece assembly is 17 feet in diameter, 16 feet tall and weighs 60,000 pounds.

"This tremendous achievement was the result of a collaborative effort," said Jim Brennan, Westinghouse vice president for Engineering Services. "The successful design, fabrication, transportation and installation of the Monticello replacement steam dryer are a true demonstration of the dedication and commitment of our global BWR team of engineers, technical leaders and support staff, as well as Toshiba and our customer, who all worked tirelessly to achieve this goal."

BWR steam dryers are used during the final stage of moisture removal to provide the highest-quality steam to the turbine. The new steam dryer will support Monticello's renewed operating license, which extends through 2030, and its proposed capacity increase of 70 MW. Westinghouse removed Monticello's original steam dryer from the reactor and installed the replacement during the plant's spring 2011 refueling outage.

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TKY: 6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world.  Westinghouse supplied the world's first pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa.  Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants, including 60 percent of those in the United States.

For additional information about the Westinghouse steam dryer design, please refer to this product flysheet on the company's website:  www.westinghousenuclear.com.

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company