NEWS |
round up
PLANT OPERATION CHINA’S SANMEN NPP in Zhejiang province is to supply steam to the Rongsheng Taizhou New Material project with an annual output of 10m tonnes. The project is schedule for completion by the end of 2026, supplying 1,800 tonnes of steam per hour. China National Nuclear Corporation said it would be the largest nuclear energy steam supply project in China.
JAPAN’S KANSAI ELECTRIC Power Company has informed the Fukui prefectural government that it plans to restart unit 1 at its Takahama NPP in late July followed by unit 2 reactor in mid-September. This came after Kansai Electric received approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to begin loading fuel at unit 1. The NRA has not yet approved fuel loading fuel unit 2 but assuming NRA approves, Kansai plans to load fuel at Takahama 2 in early August.
UPGRADES RUSSIA’S BELOYARSK NPP will in August start the final stage of work to extend the life of unit 3 until 2040. The work will be completed during the next scheduled maintenance outage. The BN-600 sodium-cooled fast reactor began operation in 1980 – the world’s first commercial fast reactor.
REGULATION & LAW AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission said the Belgian Government and the national regulatory bodies have demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement in nuclear and radiation safety.
POLICY CHINA GENERAL NUCLEAR Power Group (CGN) has released its 2023 Sustainable Development Report at a press conference in Paris. CGN Director Li Li noted that, as an international clean energy company, CGN “is committed to nuclear power as its cornerstone while actively pursuing the development of clean energy sources including nuclear, wind, and solar power”.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has announced funding of more than $6.3m for 18 projects at 15 universities in 14 states. The funding aims to build up scientific infrastructure and upgrade university research reactors at to expand US scientific capabilities. This follows an earlier announcement of more than $56m to support US universities and national laboratories.
World’s largest test platform launched
The China Nuclear Power Engineering (CNPE), part of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in co-operation with a team from Harbin Institute of Technology, has completed a structural performance test of a Hualong One containment building in serious accident conditions. The Xuanwu experimental platform, located at CNPE’s research and development facility in Langfang City, is the world’s largest containment test bed. It is based on a 1:3.2 scale replica of Hualong One prestressed concrete containment shell, according to Professor Fan Feng, Vice President of Harbin University of Technology and Director of the Space Structure Research Centre (SSRC), who led the team of Harbin reseachers. It has now undertaken the world’s first
high-temperature and high-pressure coupling test, providing a scientific reference as well as technological support in order to assess the structural performance of containment vessels
Russia Novovoronezh site prep underway Deputies in the Voronezh Regional Duma (parliament) in Russia have been debating a draft law on changing the boundaries of the urban district of the city of Novovoronezh and the adjacent Kashirsky and Ostrogozhsky municipal districts to accommodate plans for new units at the Novovoronezh NPP. Land allocation is a first stage of preparation for construction the new units planned for 2050 as part of Rosatom’s long-term strategy. Novovoronezh NPP Director Vladimir Povarov
explained that construction of new units would mean serious tax deductions from the regional budget. “The task of the NPP, as one of the largest industrial enterprises in the region, is to benefit residents through implementation of socially significant projects for development of the territory where the nuclear facility is located.”
By 2040 units 4&5 at Novovoronezh are scheduled for closure and it is planned that at least one new unit with a VVER-1200 reactor will begin operating in the mid-2030s. Novovoronezh NPP was the first nuclear plant in Russia to host VVER-type reactors (light water-cooled pressurised reactors). The first unit was commissioned in 1964 (VVER-210), the second in 1969 (VVER 365), the third in 1971 (VVER-440), the fourth in 1972 (VVER-440), and the fifth in 1980 (VVER-1000). Units 1&2 were shut down in 1984 and 1990 and unit 3 in 2016. Unit four was modernised, while unit 5 recently underwent an upgrade. Unit 1 of Novovoronezh II (a VVER-1200, also known as Novovoronezh 6) began operation in 2017 and unit 2 in 2019.
8 | August 2023 |
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in serious incidents. Team member and SSRC Deputy Director Zhi Xudong admitted that the test conditions were complex and difficult, and the preparation work for the experiment lasted three years. However, the test achieved several technological breakthroughs that will provide support for the research and development of next-generation nuclear power technology as well as the safe operation of in-service NPPs. “At present, China leads the world in the number of NPP units under construction and the safe use of nuclear energy is a prerequisite for the development of nuclear power,” said Fan Feng. “Nuclear containment, as the last barrier to protect the safety of nuclear power plants, faces various tests during its service period.” He noted that the test bed, based on Generation 3 Hualong One technology was developed by China “with full independent intellectual property rights”. ■
Pakistan China building new unit at Chashma Pakistan and China have signed an agreement for construction of a 1,200 MWe Hualong One (HPR1000) reactor at unit 5 of the Chashma NPP in Pakitan’s Punjab province. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Following the signing of the memorandum of
understanding (MOU), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told state-run news channel PTV that work on the project would begin immediately. “Investment from China in this project to the tune of $4.8bn sends a message loud and clear that Pakistan is a place where Chinese companies and investors continue to show their trust and faith,” Sharif said. Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis, and Sharif thanked China for giving a discount on the cost. It is unclear whether the new investment
is part of the $65bn that China agreed for infrastructure building in Pakistan under its Belt and Road Initiative. The new project was originally planned to start some years ago, and Sharif thanked China for not rescheduling costs despite the long delay. Instead, he said, China had provided an initial PKR30bn ($104.53m) to start the project. The Chashma NPP already hosts four
Chinese-supplied CNP-300 pressurised water reactors, which were connected to the grid between 2000 and 2017. In addition, two 1,161 MWe Chinese-supplied Hualong One reactors have been constructed as units 2&3 of the Karachi plant in Sindh province. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016, starting commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively.
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