Ability to infer - Westinghouse nuclear plants (#288, Topic B)

Early Saturday morning, I heard, over PBS, that "Westinghouse will build 4 nuclear plants in China." (#287, 12/16/06). I was hoping to read more about this -- at least to me -- important piece of news. Nothing. The weekend TV and news coverage were mainly on politics. This morning, there is a good article in Wall Street Journal, with a heading befitting its importance: "US-China Nuclear-Power Pact May Shape Technology Standard." It also answers many of my questions. One, Westinghouse was indeed bought, "this year", by a consortium led by a Japanese company. That confirms my vague recall, including that the company which took Westinghouse over is a Japanese firm; last Saturday, I refused to put any credence to this last point -- I could not believe that China would allow a Japanese company to build facilities as sensitive as nuclear plants. But, of course, the WSJ article proves me both correct and wrong. Two, all these 4 plants are "1,000-megawatt reactors." These are useful information, but I cannot convert this to oil-substitute equivalents -- so, this piece of information is wasted. Three, the consortium includes an engineering consulting firm, Shaw Group, of which I know nothing. Wall Street professionals, of course, have this down pat -- SGR (Shaw Group's ticker tape symbol over NYSE) opened this morning, as I heard over CNBC, four points higher -- it closed some 8.5% higher than Friday's close, with a volume almost 5 times its usual. Four, China selected Westinghouse over a French govenment-owned company, Areva, even though Areva offers a broad range of "nuclear cooperation, encompassing everything from uranium mining to waste management" -- and French president, who was in Beijing last October, "made it clear that France would agree to such a pact only if Beijing buys some of Areva's advanced nuclear reactors." Five, with Westinghouse winning the coveted contract, valued at "$3 billion to $4 billion," Westinghouse's technology "could ... become a standard for a new, so-called third generation of reactors." Reading in context, it seems that this technology has never been used anywhere, including USA -- "if completed, the Chinese plants would be the first... The company is looking at building 12 nuclear plants in the U.S. with its new technology." Six, it seems that only a letter of understanding has been inked; no definitive contract has been signed. So, we'll wait and see how this project develops.