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TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said on Monday it plans to launch a small nuclear reactor in the United States after 2011, aiming to take advantage of a resurgence in the U.S. nuclear power market.

Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan's biggest heavy machinery maker, said the 1,200-megawatt reactor will be based on the company's advanced pressurised water reactor (APWR) for the domestic market and modified to meet safety standards set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

In July, Mitsubishi Heavy, which lost out to Toshiba Corp. in a race to buy U.S. nuclear plant maker Westinghouse earlier this year, said it plans to launch its new APWR model, the US-APWR, with a power generation capacity of 1,700 megawatts, in the key U.S. market in 2012.

The company has also said it expects annual sales in its nuclear power business to rise to 300 billion yen ($2.54 billion) a year globally from the current 200 billion yen once its new reactor business in the U.S. takes off.

Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman Hideo Ikuno said the company is expected to receive approval from the NRC for the two types of reactors by the end of 2011, aiming to win at least one order a year from the U.S. power companies.

A string of moves by Toshiba, Hitachi Ltd., General Electric Co. and other rivals have led to greater competitiveness in the global nuclear power market, which has regained popularity due to increasing energy demands in the United States and China as well as soaring oil prices.

($1=118.04 Yen) REUTERS CS ND1436