NEWS |


round up


POLICY GERMANY MAY EXTEND the life of its three remaining nuclear power plants – Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 – the Economy Ministry said as public support increases in the face of growing energy shortages. The three plants are scheduled to close the end of the year.


THE SOUTH KOREAN Ministry of Environment has said that nuclear power will be included in the K-Taxonomy in September, and the 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions would be reset so that the ratio of nuclear power generation can be increased.


SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT Yoon Suk-yeol has told Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang to quickly rebuild the nuclear power industry and provide it with work at an early date. The new Yoon government has vowed to boost South Korea’s nuclear power generation to more than 30% of total energy by 2030.


FRENCH PRIME MINISTER Elisabeth Borne told the National Assembly that the government intended to increase its ownership of EDF from 84% to 100%. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said EDF Chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy would step down and that the government aims to have a new management in place from September.


SAFETY AND SECURITY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted the first Integrated Research Reactor Utilisation Review (IRRUR) at the 5MW pool-type RECH-1 research reactor at the La Reina Nuclear Centre in Santiago, Chile. The first IAEA Operation and Maintenance Assessment for Research Reactors (OMARR) mission took place jointly with IRRUR on RECH-1.


AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV) has concluded a five-day follow-up mission to review the emergency preparedness and response framework for nuclear and radiological emergencies in Hungary.


FRENCH REGULATOR AUTORITÉ de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) said that, in view of the improvement in the condition of the facilities and in safety practices at units 1&2 of the Flamanville NPP, it had been decided to lift the heightened monitoring it has been carrying out since 2019. ASN asks EDF to continue to maintain high standards in order to consolidate the improvements observed.


V SPIC also announced the launch of a 900


MW inter-regional long-range nuclear heat supply project at Haiyang NPP, which will be “the world’s largest extraction steam heating project”. This will involve construction of about 120 km of a heat transfer pipe network to supply heating to 1 million people in the Jiaodong Peninsula. The project is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in 2023.


Canada


OPG in industrial SMR plan Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and US-based X-energy have signed a framework agreement to pursue opportunities to deploy Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) for industrial applications in Ontario at industrial sites and identify further potential end users and sites throughout Canada. “Working with X-energy on the Xe-100, we


can help heavy industry reach climate change goals by using clean, safe electricity and high temperature steam efficiently produced through evolutionary nuclear technology to power their production facilities and enable decarbonisation of their industrial processes,” said OPG President and CEO Ken Hartwick. X-energy developed its Generation IV Xe-100


reactor based on decades of high-temperature gas reactor research and operating experience. It is scalable to meet demand. One unit can generate up to 80 MWe from 200 MWt. It produces steam at 565oC and offers flexible co- generation options suitable for decarbonising multiple industrial processes and supporting end-user power needs. The Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) SMR Action plan says development and deployment of SMRs in Canada could yield up to C$19bn (US$14.6bn) in total annual economic impact between 2030-2040.


United Kingdom Magnox reprocessing plant closes The Magnox Reprocessing Plant at the UK’s Sellafield site took its final feed of used fuel just before midnight on 17 July. Fuel was fed into the plant’s charge machine, then dissolved in nitric acid to separate out the plutonium and uranium – the last of approximately 55,000 tonnes of Magnox fuel to be reprocessed at the facility during 58 years of operations. The building and its supporting plants will soon begin a new period of clean-out and decommissioning. The plant recycled the fuel used in the UK’s


first generation of Magnox reactors. The final station, at Wylfa in north Wales, closed in 2015. Since then, Sellafield’s reprocessing plant has been working through the stock of used fuel left over by these ageing NPPs. In total, the plant reprocessed 54,920 tonnes


of Magnox fuel – more than half the volume of fuel reprocessed anywhere in the world. Sellafield Ltd CEO Martin Chown said: “The Magnox Reprocessing Plant has been one of the biggest success stories in British industrial history. When the Magnox plant started


12 | August 2022 | www.neimagazine.com


operating in 1964 it was expected to have a shelf life of 20 years. The fact it has lasted 58 years is testament to the expertise and dedication of those who have been running the plant. But now is the safe time to stop.”.


Argentina Deal signed for Atucha I Nucleoeléctrica Argentina has signed the Licensing Framework Agreement for long- term operation of unit 1 at the Atucha NPP, a fundamental requirement for the life extension project that will enable the plant to operate for a further 20 years. The signing took place at the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) with the participation of the company’s Board of Directors and the regulatory body. During the meeting, the president of Nucleoeléctrica, José Luis Antúnez, stated: “We are launching the life extension of Atucha I. It is an award for a power plant that has behaved wonderfully for 48 years. If anyone has any doubts about the useful life of nuclear power plants, the life extension of Atucha I is an example.” The current operating licence for Atucha


I issued by the ARN will end in 2024. Nucleoeléctrica said that, since 2006, has carried out the necessary studies that have led to the conclusion that it is feasible to extend the plant’s useful life for a new cycle of safe operation. The shutdown for refurbishment will last two years between 2024 and 2026 and involves an investment of $463m. It will create 2,000 jobs and generate opportunities for qualified national suppliers of components to undertake construction and manufacturing tasks.


Japan PM demands nine more units online Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Koichi Hagiuda to have up to nine nuclear power units in operation by winter. “We are aiming to put as many nuclear


reactors as possible online,” said Kishida. “We will have up to nine reactors operating this winter to secure enough sources of energy to cover about 10% of Japan’s overall power consumption.” He added: “Once accomplished, we will have the highest supply capacity in the last three years”. Following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi,


Japan closed all 54 of its nuclear units and introduced more stringent safety requirements for their restart. Of the 33 reactors currently considered to be operable, 10 have so far been restarted after meeting the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s (NRA’s) more stringent post-Fukushima safety and anti-terrorism requirements. According to government sources, the nine additional reactors planned to be in operation by winter are Kansai’s Ohi 3&4, Mihama 3 and Takahama 3&4, as well as Kyushu’s Genkai 3 and Sendai 1&2 and Shikoku’s Ikata 3. ■


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45