Westinghouse Electric Company will begin discussions with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., (NPCIL) on the deployment of its AP1000 nuclear power plants in the country, it said 28 May.

The announcement followed signing of a memorandum of understanding by Dr. S. K. Jain, chairman and managing director of NPCIL, and Westinghouse president and CEO Aris S. Candris. In making the announcement, Candris said it is logical for the two companies to work together to further expand India's already robust nuclear power industry.

"NPCIL is India's nuclear power plant company, with the broadest range of expertise encompassing design, engineering, construction, commissioning and operation," he said. "We look forward to bringing our AP1000 nuclear technology to India through such an experienced and well-respected organization as NPCIL.

"Equally important, we are confident that our business model, with emphasis on localization and infrastructure development, will benefit NPCIL, Westinghouse and the people of India and the United States."

Westinghouse vice president and business leader for India, Meena Mutyala, confirmed Westinghouse would make use of India-based companies and labour. She said Westinghouse is now exploring potential opportunities to work with companies such as Larsen & Toubro and others to provide construction-related services, equipment and modules for AP1000s to be built in India.

"Westinghouse's global track record of success with localization is well documented," she said. "In India, with an already-established infrastructure, we also hope to qualify companies to assist us in constructing or providing equipment for AP1000s elsewhere in the world."

Westinghouse becomes the third vendor to sign such a deal with India this year. In February NPCIL signed an MoU with Areva to build between two and six EPRs at Jaitapur in Maharashtra State. It was followed, in March, by an agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to collaborate on building Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWRs) in the country.