NRC approves Westinghouse exemption request for AP1000 DC

July 14, 2026, 7:08AMNuclear News
Plant Vogtle in Georgia. (Photo: Southern Nuclear)

Westinghouse has cleared a hurdle in its quest to renew and update the standard design certification (DC) for its AP1000 reactor with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval of an exemption from scheduling requirements that limit when an applicant can apply for a DC renewal.

Westinghouse submits AP1000 design revision to NRC

April 7, 2026, 12:55PMNuclear News

Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has received an application from Westinghouse to renew and update the design certification (DC) for its AP1000 reactor. This application seeks to formally incorporate the lessons learned from the construction of Vogtle-3 and -4 into the design control document (DCD) of the AP1000.

This long-expected submittal builds on previous plans at both the NRC and Westinghouse for the future of gigawatt-scale light water reactor deployments in the United States.