Toshiba's US unit Westinghouse in talks on 4 nuclear power reactors

Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Thursday that its unit Westinghouse Electric Co. is in final talks with two power companies about building up to four next-generation nuclear reactors in the United States.

If Westinghouse gets the orders, they would be the first AP1000 models to be built in the U.S., said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Oomori.

Toshiba has been in talks with Scana Corp. and Southern Co. to build up to two plants in South Carolina and two in Georgia, he said.

Toshiba shares rose on the news, climbing 5.6 percent in the Tokyo Stock Exchange's morning session to 777 yen.

Winning the orders would boost sentiment for the company and may create a view that the AP1000s will become a popular reactor in the nuclear power plant market, analysts said.

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(Source: AP)