Accenture in new nuclear IT deal.

Byline: [e-mail] (Staff Writer)

Accenture and UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE) have extended their agreement to design, build, operate, and maintain the 'Galaxy' IT platform, capable of supporting the data needs of nuclear energy facilities.

The new agreement, which adds to the original contract signed in April 2008, covers additional work necessary for Accenture to support business processes, including configuration management of detailed design data and management of data associated with required inspections; testing, and analyses; and use of acceptance criteria involved with the construction of nuclear energy facilities. The agreement also calls for Accenture to market and distribute Galaxy in collaboration with UNE to companies engaged in the design, construction and operation of nuclear energy facilities.

UNE, a joint venture of Constellation Energy and EDF Group, Europe's largest electric energy producer, has proposed building a fleet of 1,600-megawatt U.S. EPR reactors. The concept of the Galaxy platform has been an integral part of the planning and potential development of the first of UNE's proposed nuclear energy facilities, Calvert Cliffs 3 in southern Maryland.

Accenture and UNE already have completed the Galaxy enterprise architecture and overall software design. Galaxy's initial phases, delivered in September 2008, addressed business needs in the areas of regulatory requirements, facility licensing, and document and records management.

UNE and Accenture believe Galaxy will transform the manner in which nuclear energy facilities create, modify, share, and store information during all phases of their 60-year-plus lifecycles, from licensing through construction and decommissioning.

2009 CPI Financial. All rights reserved.

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