IF THEY BUILD, WHERE WILL THE PIECES COME FROM?

The front page article in the local South Jersey Newspaper reads; “PSEG Nuclear names chief to oversee its three reactors”. Regardless of the public’s feelings about safety and pollution there is an evident question. If PSEG Nuclear is granted the permit to construct their fourth plant. What company will supply the major components?

During the decades of 1960 and 1970, the United States had multiple major suppliers of the reactors and systems. Today as residents of the Delaware valley we can reflect on industries long gone. If there is a Nuclear Plant Permit issued the components such as the reactor vessel, large pipe forgings, major pumps, and controls systems must be subcontracted from a viable source. The problem that the businesses to supply them, are now overseas companies. Congratulations United States we have allowed our businesses to be exported. The lead time is now.

What have our presidential candidates been saying about jobs and businesses? 

The following was copied from the internet.

North America

The USA has seen a decline in nuclear engineering facilities. By the turn of the century the USA had lost its heavy manufacturing capability for components such as large reactor pressure vessels and steam generators – this in a country where such industrial capability had been legendary. There seems little prospect of reviving it. In the mid-1980s there were about 440 facilities with N-stamp accreditation from the ASME and hence able to produce commercial nuclear-grade components. This number halved, only partly due to industry consolidation, but had recovered to 255 by mid-2008. Several companies are focused on manufacturing opportunities for small modular reactors.

Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Power Generation Group (B&W NPG, incorporating BWX Technologies), a subsidiary of McDermott International, specializes in the management of nuclear materials, facilities, and technologies and has been the main N-stamp accredited manufacturer of nuclear power generation components. BWXT is currently the only US manufacturer of nuclear reactor pressure vessels and claims domination of the North American steam generator market. Its Cambridge, Ontario production facility is the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facility in North America. It has made most US Navy nuclear propulsion systems. In 2006 it entered an agreement with Areva to produce EPR components for UniStar at its Mount Vernon, Indiana plant. In 2009 it supplied to Areva the first of two replacement reactor pressure vessel heads for PG&E's 1100 MWe Diablo Canyon reactors, using forged blanks from Japan Steel Works.

Its Babcock & Wilcox Canada associate has provided nuclear services and more than 200 steam generators as well as reactor vessel closure heads to clients around the world. It is contracted to provide two steam generators for Bellefonte 1, delivered in 2015, if TVA proceeds with that project. B&W boilers equip more than 270,000 MW of installed capacity in over 90 countries
http://www.babcock.com/
http://www.bwxt.com/nuclear-energy/utility-solutions/nuclear-components

In 2008 the Shaw Group (now part of Chicago Bridge & Iron) and Westinghouse created a joint venture Global Modular Solutions which has built a $100 million factory at Lake Charles, Louisiana, to produce structural, piping and equipment modules for new nuclear power plants utilizing Westinghouse's AP1000 technology. Now known as CB&I Lake Charles, it was to be part of an emerging world network of such factories – preceded by one in China. In April 2015, following quality control problems, CB&I said Lake Charles would cease all nuclear work in 2016.
http://www.cbi.com/
http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/index.shtm

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co (CB&I) was awarded a $150 million engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPFC) contract by Westinghouse to build the first two containment vessels for AP1000 reactors in southeastern USA – Summer plant – plus two more for USA. However, quality assurance issues led to delays in this. CB&I has built 130 containment vessels around the world, including 75% of those for currently-operating US nuclear plants. It has also built 41 reactor pressure vessels and holds all relevant ASME accreditations.
http://www.cbi.com/

Lehigh Heavy Forge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has been operating for more than a century and for some time was the only heavy forge facility in North America able to manufacture the largest and most complex open-die forgings there for a wide variety of industries, but did not yet have ASME's N-stamp accreditation. It has a 10,000 tonne open die press which can handle ingots up to 3.3 metres diameter and 270 tonnes, and a 3000-tonne press.
http://www.lhforge.com/

North American Forgemasters at New Castle, PA installed the largest open die press in North America, which was commissioned in 2015. This 10,000 tonne/90 MN press is claimed to be the largest and fastest in North America, with 6 metre high opening, 5 m wide. It is serviced by a 200 tonne rail-bound manipulator. A sister press of 40 MN has operated since 1998. NAF says that it aims to win back a share of the large open-die forging work for North America, which since the 1980s has gone offshore. Envisaged customers include small nuclear reactor vendors.
http://www.naforgemasters.com

Allegheny Technologies Inc (ATI) forging division produced large commercial nuclear forgings in the 1960-70s (as Ladish Co) as well as large US Navy nuclear forgings. It is now re-entering the commercial nuclear market primarily for small modular reactor (SMR) supply chain, but also to produce large forgings such as top and bottom heads plus rings for large reactor pressure vessels. It has a 15,000 tonne press predominantly used for closed die forging with a 1200 t large ring mill, and can handle 175-tonne ingots.
https://www.atimetals.com/businesses/ATIForgedProducts

In 2008 Areva set up a $360 million joint venture with Newport News Shipbuilding (then owned by Northrop Grumman, subsequently by Huntington Ingalls Industries) to build a factory at its shipyard at Newport News, Virginia, where nuclear powered vessels for the US Navy are built. It would be known as Areva Newport News, and be 67% owned by Areva but drawing on the shipyard's extensive experience related to naval reactors. The facility is designed to be a twin of Areva's Chalon-St Marcel plant in France. From mid-2013 it was to take major components forged elsewhere and finish them ready for installation. Areva wanted 80% of the components for its US reactors to be made in USA. However, in May 2011 construction was suspended, and in August it was shelved. In 2013 new 300-tonne steam generators for Prairie Island in USA came from Areva’s Chalon/St Marcel plant in France.

For the USA it appears that most large metal forgings will continue to be done overseas. After Areva purchased Sfarsteel, a producer of steel forgings whose assets include Creusot Forge, it ordered heavy forgings for the first UniStar EPR plant in the USA from SFARsteel. These reactor pressure vessel and steam generator components were to be finished at Chalon-St Marcel facility in France or at B&W in Indiana, but the project was cancelled.

GE Hitachi made reservations and placed orders with JSW to contract specific forgings for its ABWRs and ESBWRs. It had "almost 100% of its supply team chain lined up and in place for the ESBWR" and was proceeding with ABWR.