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NEW BUILD
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST crane, Big Carl, lifted a 347t liner steel ring into place at Hinkely Point C unit 1. The steel ring forms part of the reactor building and was prefabricated in an onsite factory before being lifted into place.
BULGARIA HAS BEEN negotiating with Greece to build a new nuclear power plant to be used by Greece under a long-term 20-year contract, according to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Asen Vassilev.
SOUTH KOREA’S SHIN-Hanul 1 is being further delayed by an additional six months, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. Commercial operations are now expected to begin in September or October.
CHINA NATIONAL NUCLEAR Corporation announced that the lower section of the containment shell of the Linglong One ACP100 small modular reactor was hoisted into place on 26 February, 46 days ahead of schedule.
Above: Unit 3 at the Tihange nuclear power plant in Belgium could now operate until 2035
FIRST CONCRETE WAS poured on 25 February for unit 8 of China’s Tianwan nuclear power plant under construction in Jiangsu Province. The unit will be a VVER-1200 reactor supplied by Rosatom.
OPERATION FORTUM POWER AND Heat Oy has submitted the Loviisa NPP operating licence application to the Finnish Government with the aim of operating both units until the end of 2050.
CHINA’S STATE POWER Investment Northeast Electric Power Company and Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company have signed a cooperation agreement on the construction, operation and maintenance of a nuclear heating demonstration project based on the Hongyanhe nuclear plant.
THE US TENNESSEE Valley Authority (TVA) has shut down Watts Bar 2 to refuel the reactor and install the four new steam generators. The steam generators being replaced were built in the 1970s using old designs.
SOUTH AFRICAN POWER utility Eskom has deferred the planned steam generator replacement programme at Koeberg 2 until August 2023 after a review by main contractor Framatome found some required facilities were not in place and concluded there was a high likelihood of delays.
Belgium has decided to postpone its nuclear phaseout scheduled for 2025 by ten years, in face of rising energy prices partly due to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. It will extend the life of Doel 4 (1090MW) and Tihange 3 (1020MW) for 10 years to keep them in operation until 2035. But operator Engie has expressed strong
reservations about the policy change. “The decision to extend the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 power plants raises significant safety, regulation and implementation constraints, especially since this extension would take place even though the dismantling activities on neighbouring units will have started,” Engie said in a press release. “It therefore presents a risk profile which, by its unpredictability and its scale, exceeds the normal activity of a private operator.” Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo said in
a statement. “This extension should make it possible to strengthen the independence of our country regarding fossil fuels in a chaotic geopolitical context”, also announcing an increase in renewable energies through additional investments in offshore wind power, hydrogen and solar energy. The Belgian government still has to negotiate with France’s Engie, which operates Doel and Tihange’s seven reactors. The law on the gradual phaseout of nuclear
energy in Belgium was passed in 2003. De Croo said a draft bill relating to the
extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 will be submitted by the end of March for the approval
4 | April 2022 |
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of the Council of Ministers, as will a draft royal decree amending the royal decree of 30 November 2011 on the safety requirements for nuclear installations. Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control
(FANC) provisionally approved life extension for Tihange 3 and Doel 4 back in January, if this proved necessary to ensure energy security. “War changes our outlook on energy,” Prime Minister De Croo said.
German phaseout continues Meanwhile, Germany has ruled out continued operation of its nuclear plants to help cut its reliance on Russian gas, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The economy and environment ministries said in a statement that, after looking at both short-term and mid- term scenarios, the costs and risks of keeping nuclear facilities open outweighed limited benefits. Germany’s last three nuclear plants are due to close this year. The war in Ukraine has forced Germany
to radically rethink its energy policies. It has committed to building terminals to import LNG, and aims to use up to 3Mt of green hydrogen per year by 2030 and 11Mt by 2050, most of which will have to be imported. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said
Germany’s first LNG terminal, announced recently, should be ready within two years. In March, Habeck initiated an energy partnership with the Emir of Qatar which includes both LNG supply and cooperation on renewables. ■
Belgium postpones nuclear phaseout
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