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NATHANIEL D. WOODSON

Vice President and General Manager
Energy Systems Business Unit
Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Nat Woodson is vice president and general manager of the energy systems business unit of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Appointed to this position in November 1990, he is responsible for the firm's commercial nuclear power generation activities.

Mr. Woodson joined Westinghouse in 1966 as a systems engineer with the atomic power division. Following a series of key project management positions in nuclear energy systems, he was named vice president of projects for Westinghouse Nuclear Europe in 1975.

In 1977 he was named president of Westinghouse Nuclear Espanola in Madrid, Spain, and in 1981 became general manager of Westinghouse Nuclear International, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1982 he was appointed general manager of the Westinghouse nuclear operations division.

Mr. Woodson became general manager of the Westinghouse energy systems technology divisions in 1986, and in May 1988 was appointed general manager of the nuclear fuel business unit in Monroeville,

Pennsylvania. He was named President, International in March 1989 and in the same month was elected a Vice President of the corporation.

A 1963 graduate of Yale University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, Mr. Woodson also holds a masters degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1980, Mr. Woodson completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard University School of Business.

I'm Nat Woodson. As vice president and general manager of the energy systems business unit of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, I am responsible for managing the firm's commercial nuclear power activities. And I'm no stranger to the nuclear industry ... having worked in this business for all but 27 months of my 25 year career.

Since its founding in 1886, Westinghouse has been one of the world's foremost providers of electrical energy technologies. In fact, during our 105 years in business, we've supplied over 270,000 megawatts of power generating capacity in 45 countries. We pioneered nuclear energy with the design of Shippingport, America's first nuclear power plant, in 1957. Since then, more than half of the world's nuclear plants have been based on our Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) technology.

More than 30 years ago, spurred by the "Atoms for Peace" plan, the electric utility industry embarked on the technological challenge of harnessing the atom for the generation of electric power. The visionaries that pioneered the nuclear power industry recognized the promise of reliable, low-cost power. That promise of nuclear power is one we can still fulfill. And, Westinghouse remains as always -- committed to doing its share.

Today, Westinghouse shares the utility focus on total quality and
operating plant performance. We all understand that sustaining
excellence in plant performance is the real road to reliable,
cost-effective and environmentally sound electricity from the atom
and the road to the next era of nuclear power in the United
States.

...

Our industry focus on operations is paying off. Nuclear plant performance in the United States has improved dramatically. According to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), in 1989 the average U.S. nuclear plant availability factor set a record of 62.5 percent. And, radiation exposure per unit declined. What's more, this trend is continuing. In 1990, the availability factor for 51 Westinghouse plants was 74.3. This is a positive sign.

And there are other positive signs. We applaud the DOE's long and rigorous efforts to develop a National Energy Strategy. The results are significant. As President Bush stated, "...it is a strategy for an energy future that is secure, efficient and environmentally sound." And, we strongly support initiatives on standard plant designs, licensing reform, and accelerated advanced reactor funding. These initiatives recognize the importance of nuclear power in a balanced energy plan.

Nuclear power's importance to our nation's energy future is further recognized in the Nuclear Power Oversight Committee's (NPOC) strategic plan for new nuclear plant construction. We at Westinghouse believe that all these initiatives are important to renewing the promise of nuclear power.

Nuclear Power's Role in Our Energy Future

Our National Energy Strategy enables us to establish an energy base that's optimal from economic, security and environmental perspectives. Electricity from nuclear power -- an energy source which is efficient, cost-effective and environmentally clean -- has an important role to play in this energy future.

As an energy form electricity is extremely flexible ... generated from many sources... easily adaptable to user requirements ... in many cases a direct substitute for oil. And, it fuels many common but critical components of modern life.

In this country, electricity demand generally grows at about the same pace as the economy. But throughout much of the 1980s, actual electricity demand outpaced forecasted demand by 1.5 percent per year, on average. Should this situation continue, in just a few years capacity margins could drop below the levels generally recognized as acceptable. Such an event would increase the likelihood of reliability concerns in many regions.

At 2.6 percent per year growth, DOE forecasts that more than 126 thousand megawatts of new capacity will be needed to meet the electricity requirements of 2000. Utilities throughout the country are evaluating alternatives for installing new capacity. But many are wary of being left with excess capacity should demand slow, and so are reluctant to consider building large central station power plants. Today, gas-fired combustion turbines and combined cycle plants are being used to satisfy peaking, intermediate, and in some cases baseload capacity needs.

But by the late 1990s, substantial investment in new baseload power generation will be required. Nuclear power can provide a prominent source of this baseload power. Plant life extension programs will enhance the service availability of current facilities and plant operators will strive to continue to enhance plant safety and reliability. And, new designs will provide simpler, safer and more reliable next-generation technologies.

Industry Responses: Renewing the Nuclear Option

Today the industry remains committed to moving forward with the nuclear option. We're completing the current generation of reactors and intensifying our research and development efforts in order to hasten the commercialization of new designs.

I'll talk more about these concepts later. But for now, let me stress that costs for these engineering efforts must be borne by a broad portion of the industry -- including the federal government.

AP600 Update

Westinghouse believes in the future of nuclear power. We're actively and aggressively pursuing a renewed nuclear option through the development of simpler, more affordable reactor designs. But then, moving toward greater levels of safety, economy and reliability has always been the guiding principle behind

Westinghouse technology development. Now, two major design programs have culminated in the most economical nuclear power plants available: the advanced pressurized water reactor (APWR) and our advanced, naturally-safe design, the AP600.

The APWR program involves Westinghouse and five Japanese utilities, and has produced a fully tested and validated state-of-the-art 1350 MWe plant. This design, referred to as the SP/90 (Standard Plant for the 90s) has received U.S. NRC design approval in letter form. Formal design approval is imminent.

The AP600 is our DOE/EPRI sponsored design for an advanced passive 600 MWe plant. Its smaller size allows capacity to be added in increments that match demand growth more precisely than is possible with larger facilities. The AP600 is also extremely competitive with other generating sources. Our analyses show that the overall capital cost for the plant should register at about half the cost per kilowatt of some recently constructed nuclear facilities.

These savings derive from simplification, modularization, and extensive reference plant experience. The simplified design of the AP600 saves material and space. And, safety systems which rely on natural phenomena for their operation result in massive reductions in piping, valves, cables, pumps and heat exchangers. Modular construction techniques also reduce building time and costs.

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