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Commercial ops start at Barakah 3


Above: The UAE’s Barakah unit 3 has commenced commercial operations


The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that its operating and maintenance subsidiary Nawah Energy Company has begun commercial operations of unit 3 of the Barakah NPP. Construction of the $20bn Barakah began


in 2011 after South Korea won a tender for the project in 2009. Korea Electric Power Company (Kepco) led the consortium that is building the


China


Shandong heat pipeline start China has begun construction of a 23km nuclear heat pipe network connecting Yantai with Weihai in Shandong province. State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) said this is for the third phase of the 900 MW nuclear power-based district heating project in Shandong province. Total investment for the project is put at CNY700m ($102m). The project also includes a heat distribution centre that will apply intelligent scheduling management and a control platform. The Haiyang NPP in Shandong has a heating


system connected to two traditional nuclear units, making it the first commercial attempt in China to supply heat from traditional nuclear power. The system extracts steam from the secondary circuit of Haiyang’s unit 2. This is then fed through a multi-stage heat exchanger. SPIC began the first-phase of its nuclear


heating project in Shandong in 2019. This provided heating for 700,000 m2


and was


followed by the second phase in 2021 that supplied 5 million m2


. The third phase is currently under


construction and is expected to start during this year’s heating season. It will cover 30 million m2 and is expected to meet heating demand of a million residents. Eventually, SPIC plans to extend the heating


area to the entire Jiaodong peninsula. “The heat pipe network marks the official start of China’s first long-distance nuclear energy heat supply pipeline network project across prefecture-level cities,” SPIC said.


plant comprising four APR1400 reactors. Unit 1 started up and was connected to the grid in 2020, followed by unit 2 in 2021. Unit 1 began commercial operation in April 2021 and unit 2 in March 2022. Unit 3 was connected to the grid in October 2022. Unit 4 completed hot functional testing in July 2022 and is now in the final stages of commissioning. Once all four units are operating, they will contribute up to 25% of the UAE’s National Determined Contributions to Net Zero and be the largest source of dispatchable clean electricity. Enec said teams at Barakah have reduced the time between fuel loading and commercial operation for unit 3 by four months compared with unit 2, and by more than five months compared with unit 1. The teams used experience gained from the previous two units while continuing to adhere to all national regulations and international standards, as confirmed by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation and the World Association of Nuclear Operators. ■


Another nuclear heating project is underway in southern Zhejiang Province where the first phase was commissioned in December 2021 based on the Qinshan NPP. This now provides nuclear energy-generated central heating to 460,000 m2


of accommodation in three residential areas and 5000 m2 of apartments


for nearly 4000 residents of Haiyan County. This project is also being implemented in three phases. The overall goal is to extend heating to an area of 4 million m2


by 2025, covering


the main urban area of Haiyan County and the entire area of Shupu Town.


Finland Loviisa licenced to 2050 The Finnish government has granted a new operating licence for both units at Fortum’s Loviisa NPP until the end of 2050. Over the past five years, Fortum has already


invested approximately €300m to refurbish Loviisa. When applying for the new licence in March 2022, Fortum estimated that investments related to continuing operations and lifetime extension of the plant would amount to approximately €1bn by 2050. Fortum’s President & CEO Markus Rauramo


noted: “In parallel with the life-time extension, we are carrying out a thorough assessment of the economic viability of building new nuclear in Finland and/or Sweden. The feasibility study, to be completed next year, focuses on the technical, economic and societal preconditions that must be in place for Fortum to consider such a new large and long-term investment.” U


www.neimagazine.com | March 2023 | 9


round up


ADVANCED REACTORS US-BASED NUCLEAR Energy has announced development of a second proprietary advanced micro nuclear reactor design. ODIN is a low-pressure coolant reactor that “aims to diversify its technology portfolio, as the design requirements can be met through different technological solutions”.


WESTINGHOUSE HAS FILED a Notice of Intent to submit key licensing reports for its eVinci microreactor to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). NRC and CNSC signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in 2019 to facilitate joint technical reviews of advanced nuclear technologies.


SMRs THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT has launched an Enabling Small Modular Reactors Programme which will provide CAD29.6m ($21.8m) over four years. It will be used to develop supply chains for small modular reactor (SMR) manufacturing and fuel supply and security, and to fund research on safe SMR waste management solutions.


POLISH INDUSTRIAL GROUP Industria has signed a memorandum of intent with Rolls-Royce SMR to deploy small modular reactors in Poland. Government-owned Industria, as part of the Industrial Development Agency Group, is leading efforts to develop a supply chain of parts and modules for SMR production.


A SOUTH KOREAN partnership aims to develop SMR-powered ships. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the city of Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk province, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Korean Research Institute of Ship & Ocean Engineering (KRISO), the Korean Registry of Shipping, Wooyang Merchant Marine and H Line Shipping as well as Sinokor and HMM.


ESTONIA’S PRIVATELY HELD nuclear energy company, Fermi Energia, has chosen GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor for deployment in Estonia by the early 2030s. Fermi Energia had accepted tenders from GE Hitachi, US-based NuScale and the UK’s Rolls-Royce.


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