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round up


NEW BUILD CHINA NUCLEAR POWER Engineering Company said commissioning tests have been completed to evaluate the strength and leak tightness of the inner containment of Fuqing 6.


SLOVENIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE HAS issued an energy permit for the construction of a second unit at Krško, a step that allows permitting procedures to begin. The project will be managed by the state-owned Gen Energija.


THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has announced $5.8 million in funding to develop three construction technologies that together can reduce the cost of new nuclear builds by more than 10%.


KOREA HYDRO & Nuclear Power loaded fuel assemblies into the core of Shin Hanul 1, five days after being granted an operating licence by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. The APR-1400 reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation in March 2022.


PLANT OPERATION BELGIUM’S DOEL 2 was shut down manually after Engie Electrabel employees noticed a rapid increase in hydrogen consumption in the alternator, indicating a leak. The situation is under control, but the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control and Electrabel are monitoring and investigating the incident.


CZECH POWER UTILITY CEZ has increased the output of Temelín 1 by introducing new separators during a recent routine outage. The exact increase in output will be communicated to the power engineers only after the results of the guaranteed measurement.


AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation team has completed a review of long-term operational safety at the Kozloduy NPP in Bulgaria.


FUEL


THE NEW GREENLAND government is preparing to outlaw uranium mining, strengthening a ban that the national assembly overturned in 2013. A proposed bill that would prohibit uranium mining, feasibility studies and exploration activities is out for public consultation.


SPAIN’S NUCLEAR SAFETY Council has blocked Berkeley Energia’s planned uranium mine in Salamanca citing safety concerns. The CSN Plenary reported unfavourably on the request to construct a uranium concentrates plant in Retortillo.


NuScale attracts investment


for additional scopes of supply central to delivering a NuScale Plant. Earlier NuScale Power announced that it


Signing ceremony between NuScale Power and Samsung C&T Photo credit: NuScale Power


NuScale Power in recent weeks has attracted several traches of South Korean investment to support development of its small modular reactor (SMR) technology. At the same time, a key project by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) to build a commercial SMR plant in Idaho has been downsized. In July, South Korea’s Samsung C&T


Corporation committed to make an equity investment in NuScale to support deployment of its SMR. In conjunction with the investment, Samsung C&T and NuScale’s lead engineering, construction and procurement partner, Fluor Corporation, are developing a business collaboration agreement to expand capabilities available for future deployment of NuScale projects.


Under its agreements with NuScale and


Fluor, Samsung C&T will draw upon its nuclear construction experience with the successful completion of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE and units 5&6 at Hanul (Uljin) in South Korea to serve as a strategic partner to Fluor and other potential project participants. Samsung’s investment came two days after


Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC) agreed to complete a cash investment of $60 million in NuScale to continue to support SMR deployment. In 2019, Doosan was joined by financial investors that collectively invested $44 million in NuScale. With the fourth investment DHIC and its financial investors have invested more than $100 million in NuScale in two years. The strategic relationship between


NuScale and DHIC was established in 2019, and resulted in NuScale awarding DHIC a manufacturing consulting services contract. Under this strategic partnership, DHIC is bringing its expertise in nuclear pressure vessel manufacturing and has joined a US-led manufacturing team to build the NPM. DHIC will also a source for certain forgings associated with the NPM as well as key parts of the reactor pressure vessels. DHIC is a preferred supplier


4 | August 2021 | www.neimagazine.com


had finalised an investment agreement with GS Energy North America Investments, the US entity of the South Korean leading energy services provider. As part of a long-term strategic relationship established under the agreement, GS Energy will provide a cash investment in NuScale Power and support deployment of NuScale plants. The two parties will also look to develop regional NuScale power plant service delivery opportunities.


US plans scaled back In the USA, UAMPS has decided to reduce the number of SMR modules it planned to build in Idaho from 12 to six. The project is part of a US Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using nuclear power to complement intermittent renewable energy. DOE in late 2020 awarded the cooperative about $1.4 billion to support development and construction of the commercial reactors at its site in eastern Idaho that includes the Idaho National Laboratory. UAMPS said the reactors will be more efficient


than previously planned, following a redesign by NuScale, and so the amount of power produced will only fall from 600 to 462MWe. UAMPS spokesman LaVarr Webb said a plant with six reactors would be the “right size” for its members and outside utilities that want to join. Idaho Falls has committed to buying 5MWe from the reactors through the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP). The city had been committed to 10MWe but reduced the amount in October amid concerns about financial risks. UAMPS announced its plan to develop the CFPP using NuScale SMRs in 2015. At that time, it planned twelve 50MWe modules for a plant that could produce a total of 600MWe. This increased to 720MWe, when UAMPS opted to scale up to 60MWe modules. Subsequently UAMPS participants chose to build 77MWe modules but downsize the plant from 12 units to six, which would yield 462MWe. The CFPP had 33 participants in the project in


October 2020 when DOE funding was announced but the number has since fallen to 28, although Webb is optimistic more participants may still join. UAMPS plans to submit the combined


licence application (COLA) to the NRC in 2024. “Construction start will depend more on how long the COLA review takes, but the change from 12 modules to six is not expected to delay the overall schedule,” Webb said. “The first module is still scheduled to be operational in 2029, and the full plant in 2030.” ■


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