Westinghouse Electric Company welcomes yesterday's decision by the Polish government to adopt its new program for nuclear power, which will pave the way for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant.

This new program corresponds with the aims of the European Commission's proposed energy and climate objectives to be met by 2030. With Poland's need to reduce its carbon footprint, nuclear energy and the AP1000 reactor are the right solutions for providing reliable baseload electricity that is sensitive to the needs of the environment.

Commenting on the announcement, Jeffrey Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, Nuclear Power Plants said: "The Government of Poland and Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE) should be commended for their thorough consideration and preparation in taking this historic decision to begin the country's nuclear program. We recognize that views and opinions from leading experts in the energy and nuclear fields were consulted in making this important step.

"Not all technologies are equal and we believe that the AP1000 plant represents a safe, secure, reliable, and economic solution for Poland. Westinghouse looks forward to working with PGE to provide a future offer that will meet Polish and European Union (EU) nuclear safety requirements, while producing cost competitive energy."

Safety is the cornerstone of any nuclear project. The AP1000 plant is the only reactor design with fully passive safety systems intended to eliminate risks to safety in case of loss of all power, such as at Fukushima.

Westinghouse expects that the future standards of nuclear plants will be toward full passive safety due to these lessons learned. At the same time, the plant design also uses proven, standardized technology, which is based on 50 years of operating pressurized water reactor experience.

The AP1000 design is the only Generation III+ commercial nuclear power reactor to receive Design Certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In Europe specifically, the European Utility Requirements organization has certified that the AP1000 design complies with its requirements, thereby confirming that the AP1000 can be successfully deployed in Europe. Additionally, regulators in the United Kingdom have granted interim approval to the AP1000 design.

The first of four AP1000 units is nearing construction completion in China, and four additional AP1000 reactors are in the earlier stages of construction in the U.S. Contracts for another eight AP1000 units are expected to be placed in China shortly. Westinghouse currently is in discussions with several other European customers in the selection of the Westinghouse AP1000 plant.