The latest study: a massive economic footprint of the AP1000 reactor fleet in the United States.

A new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimated that building a fleet of ten Westinghouse AP1000 reactors would, over an 80-year lifetime, generate more than one trillion dollars in gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States.

The report titled “Ekonomski uticaj flote od deset jedinica Westinghouse AP1000 u SAD” (“The Economic Impact of a Ten-Unit Westinghouse AP1000 Fleet in the United States”) offers a detailed analysis across two key phases:

1. Faza izgradnje (otprilike 13 godina): it is estimated that building ten reactors would generate over $92.8 billion in GDP and support more than 44,000 highly paid jobs annually. Labor income in this phase would reach $54.7 billion, while $20.1 billion would go into the state treasury through taxes.
2. Operativna faza (procenjuje se na 80 godina): when the reactors begin operation, the GDP contribution would amount to an additional $1.03 trillion. This phase would permanently support 22,500 jobs each year, with $329 billion in labor income and $271 billion in tax revenues.

Interim CEO of Westinghouse, Dan Sumner, was explicit about the strategic goal: “As the only fully licensed and construction-ready advanced reactor of today, modular AP1000 technology is the fastest way to unleash commercial nuclear power in the United States to spur our nation's global dominance in the field of artificial intelligence.”

Significant contribution to this ambitious plan – which envisions the start of construction of the first of the ten units by 2030 – is also provided by four executive orders signed in late May. These documents aim to reform the civil nuclear sector and quadruple the United States' nuclear capacities by 2050. A special focus is placed on national security and accelerated development of technologies that will support AI centers within the Department of Energy (DOE) facilities.

The AP1000 technology is already in operation at six locations around the world (including Vogtle in Georgia), while 14 more are under construction. Westinghouse notes that Poland, Ukraine, and Bulgaria have already chosen this technology for their programs, while across Europe and the Middle East this reactor is under consideration at several more sites.

And an additional study from December of last year focused on the partially built VC Summer plant, concluding that completing two AP1000 reactors at that site would boost South Carolina's economy by an additional $7.3 billion during construction and $1.6 billion per year during operation.