| NEWS Polish NPP delayed
The updated Polish Nuclear Energy Programme (PPEJ – Program polskiej energetyki jądrowej) envisages the start of commercial operation of the first unit of Poland’s first NPP in 2036, followed by commercial operation of the next two units in 2037 and 2038. This represents a three-year delay compared with previous government plans for the plant to be operational in 2033. The previous PPEJ released in 2020 contained plans for deploying 6-9 GWe of commercial nuclear power at up to two sites in the 2030s and early 2040s. The revision was announced at a press briefing held at the Ministry of Industry addressed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Wojciech Wrochna and Paweł Gajda, Director of the Department of Nuclear Energy at the Industry Ministry. In November 2022, the then Polish
government selected Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for NPP construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May 2023 by Westinghouse, Bechtel and Polish utility Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ). Poland’s Ministry of Climate & Environment in July issued a decision-in- principle for PEJ to construct the plant. In September 2023, an engineering services agreement was signed with Westinghouse and Bechtel to finalise a site-specific design for a three-unit NPP.
The Ministry briefing also covered plans for
a second NPP, the possible construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) and European Commission approval for funding. Wrochna said the PPEJ update is at the final stage of preparation. He added that the government expects to obtain an opening decision from the European Commission by the end of this year on the application for notification of public aid for the first NPP - a condition for concluding an EPC contract.
France Flamanville 3 grid connection Unit 3 of the Flamanville NPP in the Cotentin region of Normandy in northern France has been connected to the grid for the first time, EDF has announced. The 1630 MWe (net) European Pressurised
Reactor (EPR) was launched in September, but was stopped the following day due to an “automatic shutdown”. It resumed a few days later, since when generation has been gradually increased to enable the reactor to be connected to the electricity network. The European Pressurised Reactor project
was launched in 1992 and was designed to relaunch nuclear power in Europe after the
He appeared to criticise the method used to select a partner for the first NPP and said he would avoid the mistakes of his predecessors in choosing a partner for the second. The selection must be competitive, he stressed. “In order to select an investor, we must first hold a dialogue with the market... Only the feedback we receive from the market will allow us to arrange a certain structure of this procedure, which will tell us what schedule is possible.” Wrochna added that he hopes to launch such a dialogue in January.
“In principle, we do not see that it is
possible... for the state to again invest tens of billions of zlotys in the equity formula for a second NPP.” He dismissed the possibility of undertaking such a project “based only on a long-term electricity offtake agreement from the future plant, without prior capital involvement of either an offtaker or simply another type of investor”. Paweł Gajda said Poland was considering
coal-fired locations for the second NPP, noting that the final choice of the location would probably be made jointly with the technology partner. “This process of final location selection will be conducted in parallel with the technology selection – we are planning an initial location screening next year,” he added. “The competitive procedure will begin with an initial dialogue with potential partners. Based on the outcome of this dialogue, we will propose the final terms for submitting offers,” he said. Gajda noted that the capital participation
of a strategic partner in the next project is assumed, and the Ministry would initially like a strategic partner to be selected by the end of 2026, depending on the feedback from the dialogue. “The plan is for the majority share to remain on the Polish side,” he added but did not rule out “inviting” energy-intensive industry as co-participants in the second NPP project, while maintaining state control over the entire project. The Industry Ministry also wants to create a separate programme for SMRs. ■
1986 Chornobyl catastrophe in Soviet Ukraine. Construction began in 2007 at the Flamanville site – where two reactors had been operating since 1986 and 1987. However, the project was beset by numerous problems. The start-up came 12 years behind schedule after a plethora of technical setbacks which saw costs soar to an estimated €13.2bn ($13.76bn), four times the initial €3.3bn estimate. The Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) in
May authorised the commissioning of reactor, clearing the way for EDF to begin loading the 241 fuel assemblies into the reactor and to carry out start-up tests and subsequent operation of the reactor.. in August EDF sent ASN the information required to issue an agreement for the first
round up
POLICY SERBIA, WHICH SEEKS energy independence and an end to the use of fossil fuels, has lifted a moratorium on the construction of NPPs after 35 years. Serbia’s Parliament has adopted amendments to the Energy Law ending the ban, introduced in the former Yugoslavia in 1989, three years after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. Authorities then suspended the nuclear programme and shut down the only research reactor in Belgrade.
SAFETY & SECURITY AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) team of experts has completed a review mission in Romania. The IPPAS mission was hosted by Romania’s National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control. The team evaluated Romania’s nuclear security regime for nuclear material and nuclear facilities. The mission also included reviews of physical protection and computer security measures in nuclear facilities, and physical protection during transportation of nuclear material.
THE DISCHARGE OF the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi NPP is progressing in line with international safety standards, according to the Task Force set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Task Force conducted a four-day mission to evaluate the technical aspects of the ALPS treated water release, including an on-site inspection of the facilities used for the discharge.
AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team of experts has commended Ghana for its continuous improvement of nuclear and radiation safety as it advances plans to develop a nuclear power programme. The purpose of this first IRRS mission was to perform a peer review of Ghana’s legal and regulatory framework for nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety, as well as the interface between safety and nuclear security.
COMPANIES CANDU ENERGY, PART of AtkinsRéalis has reported that as of 12 December, it has issued over CAD1bn ($700m) in purchase orders into the Candu nuclear supply chain across more than 350 companies for 2024. Candu Energy has also been awarded a contract to provide design, engineering, procurement on a reactor re-tube for Unit 1 of the Cernavoda NPP in Romania.
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