By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – Top executives at GE broke ground in Wilmington on what will become home to hundreds of employees working on the latest technology for nuclear reactors.
GE is one of a dozen companies working with The Department of Energy's Nuclear Power 2010 program, a private-public partnership to develop nuclear technology and make a case for bringing at least one new, advanced nuclear power plant online.
The research and planning of that technology will be done in the new building.
CEO of GE's Nuclear Business, Andy White says,"We're going to be doing all the conceptual design, the detail design, the certification with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the project management of the projects when we are successful with new plants will be done out of this building here."
White says the building should be done by the end of the year.
The new center for advanced reactor technology is part of a $77-million expansion to GE's Nuclear Headquarters in Wilmington, and part of the 300 jobs GE promised the county and state in return for incentives.
GE Global Nuclear is a contributor to WHQR's news initiative.