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Milestones
URENCO USA Achieves 3 Million SWU Production Capacity
Sept. 19, 2013—Louisiana Energy Services’ URENCO USA facility in Eunice, N.M.—the only operating uranium enrichment plant in the United States—activated its newest centrifuge cascade this week, thereby reaching an enrichment capacity of 3 million separative work units (SWU).
The facility’s first cascade began operating in June 2010, using industry-leading centrifuge technology. The plant continues to add capacity with the installation of additional cascades—apart from 350 full-time plant employees, there are about 1,000 construction workers on-site.
A virtual plant tour is available on URENCO USA’s website.
Barakah Gets Nuclear-Quality Rebar
Sept. 19, 2013—The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has taken delivery of the first consignment of nuclear-quality reinforcing steel rebar for the Barakah nuclear power plant project.
The 45,000 metric tons of rebar including 5,000 tons of Q-class nuclear-quality product was domestically produced by Emirates Steel Industries, the only steel maker in the Middle East and North Africa region qualified to produce nuclear quality reinforcing steel and the fourth company in the world qualified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
More than 200 UAE companies are now supplying products and services worth more than $1 billion to the Barakah project, where two of four Korean reactors are currently being built by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Co.
UK Begins Public Consultation on Repository Siting
Sept. 19, 2013—The British government has launched a three-month public consultation on how to proceed with selecting a site for a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. The U.K.’s present process centers on a community to volunteer to host a site.
The government said its proposals for a revised process include direct engagement with stakeholders and international bodies. The secretary for energy and climate change noted in a written statement to Parliament the “transformative effect” on the local economy of a multi-decade repository construction program, “stimulating local business, supply chains and providing skilled jobs and training opportunities.”
The government said it intends to relaunch the site selection process in 2014.
Yangjiang 5 Pours First Concrete
Sept.. 19, 2013—China Nuclear Engineering Corp. announced the official start of construction of Yangjiang 5, a Chinese-designed advanced CPR-1000+ reactor, in China’s Guangdong province.
Yangjiang, where four other reactors are also being built, is the largest nuclear construction site in the world. Work on Yangjiang 1, like the others a CPR-1000 design, began in 2008. A sixth CPR-1000+ reactor is expected to begin construction next year. All the reactors are to be in operation by 2018, adding more than 6,000 megawatts to the Chinese grid.
UK Opens Research Facility
Sept. 12, 2013—The United Kingdom has opened a new $31 million facility that aims to deliver world-leading nuclear research and knowledge transfer to industry.
The Dalton Cumbrian Facility has been jointly funded by the U.K.'s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute. Located near the Sellafield site in northwestern England, the new research center is a core component of the National Nuclear Users Facility that was announced earlier this year.
Research at the DCF will focus primarily on radiation science and nuclear engineering decommissioning. The facility has its own particle accelerator, large-scale experimental laboratories, irradiation facilities, and associated analytical and inspection equipment. The DCF also will offer academic access to active research facilities at the nearby Sellafield site.
Fangchenggang 1 RPV Installed
Sept. 5, 2013—The reactor pressure vessel has been installed for Fangchenggang 1, the first of six Chinese-designed CPR-1000 reactors.
Fangchenggang is located in the Guangxi Autonomous Region about 30 miles from the border with Vietnam. While reactors 1 and 2 are CPR-1000 designs slated to come on line in 2015 and 2016, reactors 3 and 4 are planned to be the evolutionary ACPR-1000 and the last two will be Westinghouse AP1000s.
Chinese Company Ships World's Largest Single-Piece Generator
Aug. 29, 2013—Dongfang Electric has shipped the 1,750-megawatt generator for China’s Taishan 1 EPR currently under construction. The component, constructed in central Sichuan province, is the world’s largest single-piece electrical generator, the company said.
About 90 megawatts of the generator’s power will be used by plant components, with the remaining 1,660 megawatts devoted to supplying power to the grid. The two AREVA EPR units at the Taishan plant are expected to begin operation in 2014 and 2015.
Russia Completes Megatons to Megawatts Program
Aug. 29, 2013—Russia has downblended the final batch of high-enriched uranium under the Megatons to Megawatts program. Electrochemical Plant, a uranium enrichment subsidiary of state nuclear utility Rosatom, dispatched the final batch of low-enriched uranium.
The program, which began in 1995, converted Russian weapons-grade uranium into a low-enriched form for fabrication into nuclear reactor fuel. It provided the uranium market with about 24 million pounds of U3O8 each year, according to Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel.
Over the course of its 17-year involvement in Megatons to Megawatts, Electrochemical Plant converted about one-third of the program’s 500 megatons of high-enriched uranium.
Ningde 2 Hot Tests Begin
Aug. 22, 2013—Pre-operational “hot” testing has begun at Ningde reactor 2 in China’s Fujian province. The tests, conducted prior to fuel loading, simulate reactor temperatures and pressures during normal operation, and will ensure that coolant circuits and nuclear safety systems are functioning correctly.
The Chinese-designed CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor, one of four at the site, is expected to start commercial operations late next year. Reactor 1 started up in April and all reactors should be operational by 2015.
New Consortium Applies for DOE SMR Funding
Aug. 15, 2013—A New York State-based consortium has submitted an application for the U.S. Department of Energy’s second round of funding for its public-private cost-shared program to develop innovative small reactors.
The National Project Management Corp. includes a cluster of regional partners including the New York state government, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Oswego City and port authority, and Empire State Development Co. It also includes South Africa-based Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Co. and the U.K.-based National Grid Co.
NPMC’s submittal is based on its 165-megawatt gas turbine modular high-temperature reactor (GT-MHR) design, which the company says has applications ranging from electric power generation and hydrogen fuel generation to recycling used fuel.
Pickering Gets License Renewal
Aug. 15, 2013—The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has granted Ontario Power Generation’s six pressurized heavy water reactors at the Pickering nuclear energy facility a five-year extension on their operating licenses.
The renewed license is valid until the end of August 2018 and requires the operator to submit a revised probabilistic safety assessment taking into account post-Fukushima safety enhancements and a public information document summarizing an integrated emergency response plan.
Canada has 19 operational and six permanently shut down nuclear reactors, which in 2012 produced 15 percent of the country’s electricity.
Pressure Vessel Installed at Changjiang 1
Aug. 15, 2013—The reactor pressure vessel has been installed for Changjiang reactor 1, a 600-megawatt Chinese-designed pressurized water reactor being built on the southern island province of Hainan.
The reactor, one of four being built at the site in a joint venture of China National Nuclear Corp. and China Huaneng Group, is expected to start operating by the end of 2014.
WIPP Adds More Rooms for TRU Waste
Aug. 8, 2013—A seventh “panel” of seven waste disposal rooms has been added to DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M., after receiving approval from the New Mexico Environment Department. DOE’s Carlsbad field office said the new panel could begin emplacing canisters of the plutonium-contaminated materials as soon as August, once Panel 6 is full.
The world's only geologic repository for defense-origin transuranic waste has been operational since 1999. Since then, nearly 88,000 cubic meters of waste in almost 170,000 steel-and-concrete containers have been disposed of in the facility, which has been carved from geologic salt formations 2,150 feet below the surface. Nearly 11,500 shipments have been safely made to WIPP.
Transuranic waste typically comprises materials such as clothing, tools, residues, soil and other items contaminated with radioactive elements heavier than uranium—mostly plutonium. All the waste comes from the Energy Department’s defense programs. The plasticity of salt allows it to gradually seal over the containers, eventually isolating them from the biosphere. At WIPP the salt closes in at a rate of up to 6 inches a year.
DOE Posts Proposed Part 810 Nuclear Export Rule
Aug. 1, 2013—The Department of Energy has posted on its website a “Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” to amend 10 CFR Part 810 regulations controlling the export of unclassified nuclear technology and assistance. The proposed rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register Aug. 2 for a 90-day comment period.
The department will hold a public meeting on Aug. 5 to discuss its latest proposed revision of the Part 810 rule. The DOE web announcement claimed the revisions will make the U.S. nuclear export licensing process “more efficient, transparent, timely and predictable” and “more effectively support U.S. companies seeking to engage in civil nuclear trade.”
Information about the Aug. 5 meeting (including instructions on participating in person or via call-in) is available in the proposed rulemaking document at the above link. Also available at the link is a DOE analysis of economic impacts of the proposed changes, developed with the Commerce Department.
EPA’s 316(b) Cooling Water Rule Under OMB Review
Aug. 1, 2013—EPA’s final 316(b) rule on protecting aquatic life at power plant cooling water intake structures has been submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. The rule was due to be finalized by June 27, but petitioners agreed to allow the agency to extend the deadline to Nov. 4. As part of that agreement, EPA has asked the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service for consultation on the rule’s impact on endangered species.
The agency also asked its Science Advisory Board to review its “willingness-to-pay” survey on the value of fish “to obtain further independent professional judgment ... and suggestions for possible future improvements.”
Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to ensure that cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impacts.
CENG Reactor Licenses to Transfer to Exelon
Aug. 1, 2013—Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the joint venture co-owned by Exelon and Électricité de France, will transfer the NRC-issued operating licenses of five of its reactors to Exelon as CENG turns over operations to Exelon over the next nine months. Exelon merged with Constellation last year.
The CENG reactors to be taken over by Exelon Generation, the largest U.S. nuclear operator with 17 reactors, include Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2 in Maryland and Ginna and Nine Mile Point 2 and 3 in New York state.
In a joint July 30 statement, Exelon said it will “lend $400 million to CENG to support a special dividend to EDF.” EDF will retain an option to sell its 49.99 percent stake in CENG to Exelon at fair market value between 2016 and 2022.
CENG will retain a board of directors comprised of five members each from EDF and Exelon. Maria Korsnick, CENG’s chief nuclear officer, will become the company’s acting CEO.
DOE to Fund USEC’s ACP for Rest of Fiscal 2013
Aug. 1, 2013—USEC and DOE have signed an amendment to a June 2012 research, development and demonstration cooperative agreement that will provide an additional $29.9 million for USEC’s American Centrifuge uranium enrichment project, bringing total government funding to $227.7 million, sufficient to fund the project until Sept. 30.
USEC said the agreement defines the scope of the RD&D program and establishes an 80-20 cost sharing split, with DOE’s total contribution up to $280 million, and USEC’s up to $70 million.
USEC has since 2002 been developing and demonstrating its gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology at its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. USEC intends to develop the technology commercially to produce low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The company also is seeking a $2 billion DOE loan guarantee to help complete plant construction.
USEC said July 29 the sixth of nine milestones—testing the effects of a power loss to the centrifuge machines—has been completed. USEC said in April it had also completed construction of a full-scale commercial cascade (see Milestones, Nuclear Energy Overview, April 4).
France’s Bugey 4 Gets Another 10 Years
Aug. 1, 2013—The French nuclear safety authority ASN has given permission for Bugey 4 to operate into its fourth decade, provided post-Fukushima safety standards are implemented.
Licenses to operate nuclear reactors in France are not time-bound. Instead, operators undergo safety reviews that allow continued operation every 10 years. This was the third 10-year safety review undergone by Bugey 4.
ASN said the 880-megawatt pressurized water reactor needed to show by the end of 2012 it could maintain fundamental safety functions in extreme situations including a combination of natural phenomena “of an exceptional scale” and severe accident conditions following the prolonged loss of electrical power or heat sinks.
First Steam Generator Installed at Fangchenggang
July 25, 2013—The first of three steam generators has been put in place at Fangchenggang reactor 1 in China's Guangxi province. The Chinese-designed CPR-1000 reactor, one of two being built at the site, is scheduled to begin operating in 2015. The second will follow a year later.
The plant is a project of a joint venture between China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co. and Guangxi Investment Group. The site will eventually house six reactors.
Calandria Delivered for India’s RAPP 7
July 25, 2013—The calandria for Rajasthan Atomic Power Project’s reactor 7 was recently delivered to the construction site from its manufacturer M/S Godrej in Mumbai. Construction of all the pressurized heavy water reactors at RAPP has been undertaken by Hindustan Construction Co.
RAPP 7 and 8—both indigenously designed 700-megawatt PHWRs—are scheduled to begin commercial operation in June and December 2016.
EPR Dome Installed at Flamanville 3
July 18, 2013—France's first EPR has achieved a construction milestone with the placement of the reactor’s dome. The dome will be welded to the reactor building and then encased in concrete. The nuclear steam supply system, including the reactor vessel, pressurizer and steam generators will be installed inside the building in the coming months.
Utility and project architect-engineer EDF said the civil engineering work is 95 percent complete, with nearly half of electrical and mechanical installation done. The nuclear steam supply system has been supplied by AREVA, and Bouygues Construction is leading the civil engineering consortium.
The 1,650-megawatt pressurized water reactor, which began construction in 2007, is expected to begin operating in 2016 after three years of delays.
EPRs under construction at Taishan 1 and 2 in China are expected to begin operating this year and next, while Finland’s Olkiluoto 3, like Flamanville 3, is to start up by 2016.
India’s Kudankulam 1 Attains First Criticality
July 18, 2013—Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. announced that its 1,000-megawatt Kudankulam 1 VVER reached first criticality July 13. The startup was conducted by NPCIL staff and supervised by Russian vendor Atomstroyexport and India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
India’s 21st nuclear energy facility, its first large pressurized water reactor, will be connected to the electrical grid in the next 30 to 45 days before being powered up to full capacity. Startup had been delayed as a result of protests by area residents.
Kudankulam 2, also a VVER, is expected to begin commercial operation next March.
AREVA-Mitsubishi’s Atmea1 Gets Canadian Regulatory OK
July 18, 2013—Atmea1, a 1,100-megawatt pressurized water reactor design from an AREVA-Mitsubishi joint venture, has obtained initial regulatory approval by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
A similar pre-licensing assessment was granted by the French regulator in February 2012, and the design is also under consideration in Argentina, Jordan and Turkey.
Canada is in the early stages of planning new nuclear reactors. Ontario Power Generation is developing plans for up to four new reactors at Darlington and is looking at the Westinghouse AP1000 and Enhanced CANDU 6 designs.
Pakistan Buying Two Chinese Reactors
July 18, 2013—The Pakistani government has approved the purchase of two 1,100-megawatt ACP1000 pressurized water reactors from China. Worth $9.6 billion, the reactors will be located near the coastal city of Karachi and will be supplied by China National Nuclear Corp.
The ACP1000 design is modified from French 900-megawatt reactors that China imported in the 1990s. As Pakistan is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the reactors will be owned and operated under item-specific international safeguards.
Pakistan currently operates a 125-megawatt pressurized heavy water reactor at Karachi and two 300-MW Chinese-built reactors at Chashma, with two more under construction.
Snake Robot Trial Successful
July 18, 2013—A modular snake robot, designed to transmit high-quality video of nuclear plant pipework internals, was successfully tested at a never-operated boiling water reactor at Zwentendorf, Austria.
The robot, developed by Carnegie Mellon University, is two inches in diameter and three feet long and has 16 modular segments. It is powered and controlled by a tether up to 60 feet long and can negotiate bends and open valves. The Carnegie Mellon team is working on developments to allow underwater operation and the addition of a “runner” device to ensure the machine can be retrieved.
Robots, drones and other remote-controlled equipment have a growing range of applications in the nuclear field, particularly in decommissioning.
GAO Says NRC License Renewal Follows Procedures
July 11, 2013—In a report released July 10, the GAO said that the NRC largely followed its own procedures on granting license renewals but stopped short of offering any recommendations.
The report said that “NRC generally followed its procedures when reviewing selected safety and environmental elements in eight license renewal applications GAO examined.”
GAO added that NRC’s “safety reviews were generally consistent with the agency’s procedures for evaluating both an applicant’s identification of components within the scope of the license renewal process and proposed buried piping and tanks inspection and fire protection programs.”
The GAO said that “some stakeholders suggested potential changes to improve the license renewal process, including broadening the scope of NRC’s reviews and modifying aspects of the public hearing process.”
The report said that the "NRC neither agreed nor disagreed with GAO's findings.”
NRC Sends Annual Report on Security Inspections to Congress
July 11, 2013—The NRC has sent its annual report on security inspections to Congress.
The report said that, in 2012, the NRC conducted 206 security inspections (of which 23 were force-on-force inspections) at commercial nuclear power reactors and CAT I fuel cycle facilities.
According to the NRC, a “full” force-on-force inspection spans two weeks and includes tabletop drills and multiple simulated combat exercises between a mock commando-type adversary force and the plant's own security force.
The 206 inspections identified 156 findings, 148 of which were of very low security significance, while eight were of greater than very low security significance.
According to the report, whenever a finding is identified during a security inspection, the NRC ensures that the licensee implements adequate compensatory measures until the problem is corrected. These measures can include additional armed personnel and/or physical security measures, the report said.
Spain's Garoña Plant Closes
July 11, 2013—Spain's Garoña nuclear power plant has officially shut down. The 446-megawatt boiling water reactor began operations in 1971.
Four years ago the Spanish government issued an operating license lasting until July of this year. Nuclenor, the plant operator, did not apply for a license renewal.
In a brief statement on its website, Nuclenor said the shutdown was solely due to economic reasons and that the company had not waived the right to apply for a license renewal in the future. According to the World Nuclear Association, electricity consumption declined almost 2 percent in 2012 due to Spain's recession.
The plant is located in the Burgos region in the north of Spain where it supported about 1,500 jobs and contributed €280 million ($360 million) per year to the economy, according to a study sponsored by Nuclenor.
Fessenheim 1 Reinforcements Complete
July 11, 2013—EDF's Fessenheim 1 has completed a project to upgrade the reactor’s concrete basemat, allowing the reactor to continue operating.
As a result of stress test done in response to the Fukushima accident, French nuclear regulators required an increase the resistance of the unit's basemat.
France's Nuclear Safety Authority set a deadline for completing the work of June 30. The project has seen the thickness of the unit's concrete basemat increased by 50 centimeters (approximately 20 inches).
Company Submits EIA for Plant in Turkey
July 11, 2013—Akkuyu NGS, a Russian-Turkish company led by Rosatom, has submitted an environmental impact assessment report on its planned Akkuyu nuclear power plant project to Turkey’s ministry of environment and city planning, the Russian state nuclear corporation said July 9.
Rosatom’s will build, own and operate the plant on the country’s southern Mediterranean coast. The plant will have four reactors with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts each. The first reactor should be commissioned in 2020.