| NEWS
Saudi Arabia Grossi praises nuclear progress International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, said the Kingdom has taken a very wise decision to add nuclear power to the options in this integrated energy mix,” Grossi said. “We have greatly intensified our cooperation in the past few years because of the faster pace with which Saudi Arabia is preparing itself for the introduction of nuclear power.” Grossi visited the King Abdullah City for
Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), the Nuclear & Radiological Regulatory Commission (NRRC) headquarters, the NRRC laboratories and its nuclear and radiological Emergency Preparedness Centre. “I am very impressed by the degree of
professionalism I see in the Saudi nuclear sector,” he said. “I see a wide panoply of institutions that work very well together and that have a clear way forward, and my impressions are indeed very positive.” He also visited the Low Power Research
Reactor at the King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST). The reactor, which is not yet in operation, will provide technical experience and training opportunities for nuclear scientists and engineers. Grossi underlined the essential role of this facility – the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia -- in preparing for the nuclear power programme. “Saudi Arabia is at the doorsteps of nuclear
operation starting with the research reactor and later with bigger facilities,” he said.
Ukraine Dry fuel storage site begins operating Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom says it has begun transporting used nuclear fuel from its operating reactors to the newly-built and commissioned Holtec-engineered Central Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF) known as a Consolidated Interim Storage (CIS) facility in the US. The CSFSF is expected to save approximately $200m a year compared with the previous practice of transporting used fuel to Russia for reprocessing. “Today, Ukraine is entirely self-sufficient in the strategically crucial area of storage and management of the used nuclear fuel discharged by its reactors eliminating a critical constraint in the continued generation of electricity by the nation’s nine reactors,” Energoatom noted. Energoatom and Holtec International have deployed state-of-the-art storage and transport systems for Russian-origin (VVER) nuclear fuel which have proven defence-in-depth features against accidents and mishaps, Energoatom said. Equipment includes the HI-STORM 190 vertical ventilated storage system, the HI-STAR 190 Universal Transport Cask, the HI-TRAC 190 Transfer Cask, and an array of ancillary equipment to load, dehydrate, and weld the double wall Multiple Purpose Canisters at each operating plant site.
The dried and welded Double Wall Canisters
have been safely transported in the HI-STAR 190 transport cask to the Central Storage Facility and placed in the HI-STORM 190 vertical ventilated systems for environmentally safe- storage. The high-capacity Double Wall Multi- Purpose Canisters and the heavily shielded transport cask HI-STAR 190 “have become Ukraine’s workhorse to transport the country’s used fuel from its nine reactors to the nation’s consolidated interim storage facility”. Although the Design Life of CSFSF is 100 years, their Service Life is expected to be many times longer.
Japan Kashiwazaki NPP restart approved Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ (Tepco’s) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in northern Japan’s Niigata prefecture has been approved for restart by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) more than two years after an order was issued for improvement of counterterrorism measures. NRA said the measures had been enhanced after inspections of the reactor complex However, Tepco still needs to obtain local consent. “We will listen to residents’ opinions and make our decision,” Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi said. Tepco has long wanted to resume operation
of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant to reduce its dependence on costly fossil fuel imports for non-nuclear thermal power generation. It is also facing huge compensation payments and other costs stemming from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. The seven-unit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex was one of the world’s largest NPPs with a combined output capacity of 8, 210MWe when it was fully operational. Although Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was unaffected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami all seven of the plant’s reactors had been offline for two to three years following the earlier 2007 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake, which caused damage to the site. Work has since been carried out to improve the plant’s earthquake resistance. Tepco applied for NRA approval of its design and construction plan for Kashiwazaki- Kariwa units 6&7 (1356 MWe advanced boiling water reactors) in September 2013. Tepco submitted information on safety
upgrades across the site and at those units, which began commercial operation in 1996 and 1997 and were the first Japanese boiling water reactors to be considered for restart. NRA cleared safety screenings for the two units in 2017 paving the way for the resumption of operations. However, security breaches and delays in completing safety upgrades caused delays. Niigata Governor Hanazumi is expected to
ascertain residents’ opinion on the plant’s restart through discussions in the prefectural assembly, a referendum and a gubernatorial re-election. “An election of course is an option,” he told reporters. However, some local residents oppose such a step. ■
round up
ADVANCED REACTORS SPECIALISTS AT THE AI Leipunsky Institute of Physics & Power Engineering (IPPE – part of Rosatom) in Obninsk have launched a physical model of the active zone of the BN-1200M fast neutron reactor unit using the complex of fast physical stands (BFS) at the institute.
SMRs ROSATOM IS OFFERING potential buyers of floating NPPs (FNPPs) a turnkey concept whereby customers need not become involved in their construction and operation. Rosatom Deputy General Director Andrey Nikipelov said the concept “assumes that we do not sell power units as something separate – we sell the electricity that is generated using the floating units”.
THE US EXPORT-Import Bank (EXIM) President & Chair Reta Jo Lewis has announced that EXIM has approved a resolution to fund applications for the export of US SMR systems and components. The announcement was made public in a White House fact sheet and at the UN climate change conference (COP28) in Dubai.
THE UK OFFICE for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), along with the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources have started a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for Holtec International’s SMR-300. The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) made the request to the regulators following its readiness review of Holtec’s application.
POLAND’S CLIMATE & Environment Ministry issued decisions-in-principle for the construction at six locations of BWRX-300 small modular reactors. A total of 24 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 reactors are planned for the sites. This entitles Orlen Synthos Green Energy to apply for a number of further administrative arrangements, such as a siting decision or construction licence.
HYUNDAI ENGINEERING CEO Hong Hyun- seong and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) President Joo Han-gyu have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote the commercialisation and export of KAERI’s SMART small modular reactor.
ENERGY SERVICES PROVIDER Laurentis Energy Partners is joining forces with engineering & consulting company Tractebel, and management, consulting & engineering services company Hatch to develop a one-stop shop to support industrial small modular reactor clients.
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