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US, Russia Sign Wider Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
Sept. 19, 2013—The United States and Russia signed an agreement on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference this week that will increase contact between laboratories and nuclear energy research institutes in the two countries and open “broad opportunities” for cooperation in areas of nuclear research such as fast reactors, fuel irradiation, safeguards and nonproliferation.
The agreement was signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Rosatom Director-General Sergei Kiriyenko. DOE said the agreement will complement provisions of the U.S.-Russia “123 Agreement,” which came into force in January 2011.
Westinghouse to Dismantle Jose Cabrera Pressure Vessel
Sept. 19, 2013—Spain’s nuclear waste management company ENRESA has contracted Westinghouse to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of the shutdown José Cabrera nuclear energy facility.
Under the contract, the RPV and vessel head will be dismantled and segmented, and the components transferred to the reactor’s used fuel pool where they will be cut up.
The 142-megawatt reactor, also known as Zorita, was Spain’s first nuclear reactor. The Westinghouse-designed single-loop pressurized water reactor was permanently closed in 2006 after 38 years of operation.
AREVA Wins German Fuel Cask Contracts
Sept. 19, 2013—AREVA has signed a series of contracts worth more than $265 million to deliver more than 70 of its TN-24E used fuel storage and transportation casks to unspecified German companies. TN-24E casks are designed for used mixed oxide nuclear fuel.
The contract is the first that will allow a non-German cask manufacturer access to the German used fuel management market.
Exelon Nuclear Signs MOUs With Reactor Vendors on Saudi Project
Sept. 12, 2013—Exelon Nuclear Partners, a division of utility Exelon Generation, has signed separate memoranda of understanding with two reactor vendors to pursue potential construction contracts in Saudi Arabia. Exelon expects to bring its reactor operating experience to bear in its partnerships with the vendors.
Under ENP’s agreement with Westinghouse/Toshiba, the companies will seek to pursue orders of Westinghouse’s 1,100-megawatt AP1000 reactor design. Its agreement with General Electric Hitachi will promote GEH’s 1,300-megawatt Advanced Boiling Water Reactor as well as the 1,500-megawatt Economic Simplified BWR.
Saudi Arabia has plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors by 2032, in an effort to diversify the nation’s energy sources from oil and gas. The electricity generated could also be used for desalination. For now any future bids are expected to be evaluated by the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, a government body established to develop alternative energy sources in the kingdom.
Holtec International and PSEG Power to Develop SMR‐160
Sept. 12, 2013—Holtec International announced that PSEG Power has deepened its commitment to develop the SMR-160.
Under the agreement, PSEG Power will continue to offer its technical expertise to inform the design effort from a reactor operations and maintenance perspective. PSEG Power has an option to acquire an ownership interest in the technology, which paves the way for it to be responsible for the training and operations of the SMR-160 once new reactors are built.
Holtec’s SMR-160 pressurized water reactor design has a 160-megawatt capacity with the reactor, steam generator and spent fuel pool located inside the containment. On June 30, Holtec submitted a request for financial support under the U.S. Department of Energy’s March 11 funding opportunity announcement.
Contracts for New Pakistan Reactors
Sept. 12, 2013—China National Nuclear Corporation has been contracted to build two Chinese-designed ACP1000 reactors for Pakistan’s Karachi Coastal Nuclear Power Project. It is the first time the Chinese reactor design has been sold abroad.
The two reactors will be built at a coastal site near Paradise Point in Sindh province at an estimated cost of $9.6 billion. Pakistan’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved funds to purchase the reactors in July.
Pakistan currently has a 40-year-old 125-megawatt pressurized heavy water reactor at Karachi and another nuclear power plant at Chashma in Punjab province.
South Korea, Vietnam to Cooperate on Potential Plant
Sept. 12, 2013—The governments of South Korea and Vietnam have agreed to continue cooperation on the possible construction of a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
Nuclear cooperation was addressed in a joint statement following a meeting between the two countries’ presidents, in which they welcomed a preliminary feasibility study for the development of a nuclear power plant in Vietnam estimated at $10 billion.
Russia and Japan already have agreed to build and finance Vietnam's first four nuclear power reactors, with two Russian-designed VVERs to be constructed at Ninh Thuan and two Japanese-designed reactors at Vinh Hai.
AREVA and EDF Sign MOUs With Polish Suppliers
Sept. 12, 2013—AREVA and EDF have signed four memoranda of understanding with Polish suppliers for “future nuclear projects in Poland.”
MOUs with Polish companies Grupa Powen-Wafapomp, ELEKTROBUDOWA, TELE-FONIKA Kable and Rafako were signed during a “Supplier Days” event in Poland, to support new-build projects in the country.
AREVA said the event “underlines AREVA and EDF’s ambition to create an extended network of Polish suppliers.”
AREVA Wins Outage Contract
Sept. 5, 2013—PSEG Nuclear’s Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants in New Jersey will be serviced during their outages by AREVA, under a recently awarded long-term contract. AREVA will perform refueling, inspection and steam generator maintenance when the plants shut down later this year.
Salem comprises two pressurized water reactors, while Hope Creek is a single boiling water reactor. PSEG has 100 percent ownership of Hope Creek; however, Salem is part-owned (43 percent) by Exelon.
Rolls-Royce, Rosatom to Cooperate on Gen III+ VVER Feasibility
Sept. 5, 2013—Rolls-Royce has been awarded a nuclear services contract by Russian state-owned company Rosatom, under which the British firm will conduct engineering and safety assessment work on the feasibility of introducing Russia’s Generation III+ pressurized water reactor design to the U.K. market.
In a separate agreement, Rolls-Royce will collaborate with Finnish nuclear utility company Fortum on the project. The U.K government and Rosatom also signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate this commercial work.
Russia, Finland Planning Hanhikivi Project
Sept. 5, 2013—Finland’s utility company Fennovoima and Rosatom subsidiary Rusatom Overseas could by the end of the year sign a contract for a new nuclear power plant at the Hanhikivi site on Finland’s western coast.
The two companies also are discussing schedules, financing and plans for Rosatom to take up to a 34 percent stake in Fennovoima, a consortium of 60 Finnish companies established in 2007 to build a new nuclear plant in Finland. Germany's EOn sold its 34 percent share in Fennovoima last year.
The company is currently considering a 1,200 megawatt reactor for the site and is looking at the Russian AES-2006 pressurized water reactor design that is also slated for construction in Turkey and Belarus.
Two of Finland’s four operating nuclear reactors are of Russian-designed units at the Loviisa site.
St. Lucie Simulator Gets Upgraded
Aug. 29, 2013—L3-MAPPS will complete upgrades for the simulator at Florida Power & Light’s St. Lucie nuclear facility, including rehosting simulation software, replacing analog controllers with new digital controllers and replacing the simulator’s gateway computer. The updated simulator is expected to enter service by the end of 2013.
The company will also supply a touchscreen classroom simulator of St. Lucie’s control room.
Rolls-Royce to Update Plant Process Computers at Comanche Peak
Aug. 29, 2013—Rolls-Royce earned a $13.7 million contract to replace aging plant process computers at Luminant’s Comanche Peak nuclear energy facility in Texas.
Plant process computers monitor safe operations by gathering and displaying data such as pressure, temperature, flows and valve positions. The current system, installed in the early 1990s, has become increasingly difficult to maintain due to the lack of available parts.
Rolls-Royce will also replace the plant process computer training system in the plant’s training simulator.
Comanche Peak is home to two pressurized water reactors with a combined generating capacity of 2,300 megawatts.
South Korea to Build Jordan’s First Test Reactor
Aug. 22, 2013—A South Korean consortium led by Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. has received permission from the Jordanian Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a research reactor in the country.
The 5-megawatt research reactor will be located at the Jordan University of Science and Technology near the capital Amman, and is expected to be completed by 2016. The reactor will be used for training and nuclear isotope production.
Since the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission awarded the contract in 2009, the Korean consortium has built a training facility and laid foundations for the research reactor.
Alstom Wins Hungarian Contract
Aug. 8, 2013—Alstom Hungary has won a $6.8 million, eight-year contract to refurbish nine generators at Hungary’s Paks nuclear energy facility. The servicing will be conducted at the rate of one generator per year.
The four VVER reactors at Paks, Hungary’s only nuclear plant, supply more than 40 percent of the country's electricity. The reactors have been in operation since the 1980s.
After an extensive modernization program, the country’s nuclear regulator agreed to allow Paks reactor 1 to operate for 20 years beyond its initial 30 year design life. The other three reactors are expected to obtain similar authorization. There also are proposals to build two new 1,000-megawatt reactors at the site.
Westinghouse, Ameren, Missouri Universities to Form SMR Consortium
Aug. 1, 2013—Ameren and Westinghouse Electric Co. are partnering with two University of Missouri campuses that will lead a small modular reactor research consortium. Missouri University of Science and Technology at Rolla will host the consortium, with a satellite center at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Ameren and Westinghouse are founding members of the consortium.
The consortium, also supported by a $250,000 grant from the public-private Missouri Technology Corporation, will research “transformational technologies” that support the development of small modular nuclear reactors. These will include computer-aided design evaluation tools, advanced construction materials and manufacturing concepts, advanced fuel cycles and waste storage and disposal methods, and educational tools for students, teachers and the public.
The 10-megawatt research reactor at Missouri University is the highest-powered on a university campus in the United States.
Westinghouse Signs Another Czech MOU
Aug. 1, 2013—Westinghouse has contracted with the Czech company Vitkovice Power Engineering to build a demonstration mock-up of an AP1000 plant module. The module comprises the area within the facility that will hold used fuel and is made up of 72 sub-modules weighing a total of 900 tons. Construction is expected to be complete early next year.
Westinghouse is seeking to build two AP1000 reactors at the Temelin site and has been developing the technical capabilities of local companies as it prepares to bid on the project. In February, the company signed memoranda of understanding with three Czech engineering firms (see Contracts, Nuclear Energy Overview, Feb. 28). Westinghouse said these agreements “constitute a major part of the engineering work to meet national and local requirements” should the company be awarded the contract for the Temelin reactors. Westinghouse and Toshiba also signed MOUs with two Czech steel companies in January.
Czech utility CEZ, which is 70 percent state-owned, launched the tender process for Temelin in August 2009. CEZ said that it is continuing “intensive negotiations” with Westinghouse and a Russian-led consortium. CEZ is also conducting discussions with the new government on energy strategy. The selection of the reactor supplier and signing of a construction contract could take another 18 months.
Rolls-Royce Joins NuScale in Bid to Commercialize SMRs
Aug. 1, 2013—Rolls-Royce announced it is supporting NuScale Power’s submission to the Energy Department’s second funding opportunity announcement for its public-private program to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative small modular reactor technology.
DOE’s small reactor development program is soliciting proposals for cost-shared small modular reactor projects that have the potential to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and achieve commercial operation around 2025.
A Rolls-Royce press release said the company’s “significant nuclear skills” include “providing advice to governments and operators, supply chain management and manufacturing and technical engineering support.”
South Africa, EU Sign Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
July 25, 2013—South Africa and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) have signed an agreement to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy through participation in one another’s nuclear energy research projects. The agreement also includes a nonproliferation clause that guarantees nuclear safety standards will be met. It also stipulates that nuclear material in the European Union will be handled under Euratom safeguards, while International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards will be in place in South Africa.
The agreement is part of a $130 million program to encourage South African rural electrification as well as energy efficiency and renewable energy. South Africa has two commercial reactors, Koeberg 1 and 2, which account for about 5 percent of the country’s electricity production.
AREVA and German University Continue Nuclear Program
July 25, 2013—AREVA and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology will extend an agreement to operate the Nuclear Professional School in Germany for at least five more years. The school, opened in 2009, has held short courses for experienced engineers and physicists new to the nuclear industry.
AREVA also sponsors doctoral theses and a visiting professorship and provides employee training at nuclear facilities as part of the agreement. Courses are also held in countries pursuing new nuclear build, including the United Kingdom and Finland.
Westinghouse Spain Earns Repository Contract
July 25, 2013—Westinghouse Electric Co. has won an architect engineering services contract from Enresa, the country’s radioactive waste management and plant decommissioning authority.
Under the four-year contract, Westinghouse Spain will provide design modifications and prepare technical and licensing documentation for El Cabril repository near Córdoba, which has accepted low- and intermediate-level waste from Spain’s nuclear energy facilities since 1992.
Russia May Help With Chernobyl Decommissioning
July 25, 2013—Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, will study the possibility of cooperating with decommissioning at Chernobyl. Three reactors will be decommissioned at the site, while a containment structure is being constructed over the fourth reactor, which was destroyed in the 1986 accident.
V4 Nations Establish Gen IV Center of Excellence
July 25, 2013—Four nuclear research institutes and engineering companies from central Europe’s Visegrád Group of Nations (V4) have agreed to establish a center of excellence for joint research, development and innovation in Generation IV nuclear reactors.
The V4G4 Center of Excellence, to be registered in Slovakia and managed by a steering committee, is being set up by scientific and research engineering company ÚJV Řež AS of the Czech Republic, the Academy of Sciences Centre for Energy Research of Hungary, Poland’s National Centre for Nuclear Research and engineering company VUJE AS of Slovakia.
The aim of V4G4 is to “establish the scientific background” for demonstrating gas-cooled fast reactors, including the 50-80 megawatt-thermal Allegro design. Allegro has funding support from the Generation IV International Forum, in which France, Japan, Switzerland and the EU are partners.
US, Chinese Regulators Cooperating on AP1000 Licensing Issues
July 18, 2013—The U.S. NRC and China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration have renewed a 2008 agreement to expand cooperation on nuclear safety issues related to licensing and construction of the Westinghouse AP1000 reactors being built in both countries. The five-year extension was agreed at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington last week.
Two AP1000 reactors are being built at each of the Sanmen and Haiyang sites in China and at the Vogtle and VC Summer sites in the United States. The Chinese reactors could begin commercial operation as soon as next year, while the U.S. reactors should begin operating in 2017.
“U.S. and Chinese nuclear regulators plan in the coming year to exchange personnel for extended rotations to deepen working-level relationships and share expertise on AP1000 construction and licensing,” a State Department statement said.
China AP1000s to Get Alstom Turbine-Generator Sets
July 18, 2013—France’s Alstom and China's Dongfang Electric Co. have signed a cooperation agreement on the supply of turbine and generator packages for future Chinese AP1000 projects.
Under the agreement, turbine and generator sets supplied by DEC will be based on Alstom's Arabelle technology. China has plans to build some 38 Westinghouse AP1000 reactors.
In collaboration with DEC, Alstom over the last 20 years has supplied more than half of the turbine and generator packages in the country. The turbine rotors for the Sanmen and Haiyang AP1000 units, however, were supplied by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
AREVA, EDF to Train Saudi Nuclear Technicians
July 18, 2013—France’s AREVA and EDF have signed a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia’s National Institute of Technology to help train Saudi technicians for the kingdom’s planned nuclear energy industry.
The two companies will train Saudi workers in various nuclear specialties such as welding, electrical installation, mechanics and electromechanics. Representatives from several Saudi higher education establishments have recently visited AREVA and EDF sites in France to learn fuel-cycle activities, nuclear plant operation and reactor construction.
Saudi Arabia is considering plans to build 16 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years, at a cost of more than $80 billion. The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy was recently set up in Riyadh as the competent agency to implement nuclear energy treaties.
The kingdom signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with France in early 2011. Other agreements are in place with Argentina, China and South Korea. Saudi Arabia and the United States are also in discussions on a nuclear cooperation agreement.
Westinghouse to Deliver Fuel for German Reactors
July 18, 2013—German utility E.On will exercise an existing contract option to be supplied with Westinghouse replacement fuel assemblies for four reactors slated for permanent closure by 2022.
The E.On reactors affected by Germany’s post-Fukushima phase-out plan are Grafenrheinfeld (to be closed by the end of 2015), Brokdorf and Grohnde (2021), and Isar 2 (2022). Westinghouse said it will produce the fuel for those reactors at its fabrication facility in Vasteras, Sweden.
Germany Passes HLW Repository Siting Law
July 18, 2013—The German parliament has passed a law to begin siting procedures for a national repository for the country’s high-level radioactive waste. The law creates a 33-member commission to develop “basic principles” for site selection, including safety and economic requirements and selection criteria for rock formations.
The commission will include representatives from the parliament, academia, civil society organizations, industry, the environment and trade unions, and will forward its repository site recommendations for parliament to decide by 2031.
A new independent regulator—the Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Disposal—will also be established next year.
Alstom and China’s DEC Sign Cooperation Agreement on Steam Turbine
July 11, 2013—Alstom has signed an agreement with China’s Dongfang Electric Corp. (DEC) for the supply of turbine and generator packages for future Chinese AP1000 projects.
Patrick Kron, Alstom’s chairman and chief executive, and Wang Ji, chairman of DEC, formalized the agreement at a ceremony in Chengdu. According to the agreement, DEC’s turbine and generator packages related to future AP1000 projects will be based on Alstom’s Arabelle steam turbine technology.
Pakistan Approves Funds for Purchasing Two Chinese Reactors
July 11, 2013—Pakistan's Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has approved funds to purchase two new nuclear power reactors from China.
According to reports, China National Nuclear Corp will build two 1100-megawatt ACP1000 reactors at coastal site in Sindh province about 25 kilometers west of the capital. The deal is valued at $9.6 billion.