NEWS |
round up
SAFETY & SECURITY AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) follow-up mission has completed a 12-day mission to Switzerland at the request of the Swiss Government. The visit was hosted by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Site & External Events Design (SEED) team of experts has concluded a safety review of Kazakhstan’s process for selecting the site of its first planned NPP. IAEA noted that the Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy had proposed the reintroduction of nuclear power. In 2022, Kazakhstan chose the area in the vicinity of Ulken village as the preferred region for its first NPP.
COMPANY NEWS US POWER UTILITY Constellation has completed its acquisition of NRG Energy Inc’s 44% ownership stake in the South Texas Project Electric Generating Station (STP). Constellation’s stake represents approximately 1,100 MWe of the plant’s output. Ownership transfer of the 2,645 MWe dual-unit nuclear plant was approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This was the final regulatory approval needed before closing the deal.
THE UK’S MAGNOX Ltd will in future be known as Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS). NRS (formerly Magnox) is responsible for safely decommissioning and restoring the first generation nuclear and research sites across the UK. The new brand represents the joining together of 12 Magnox sites and the Dounreay site in Scotland. It also paves the way for the addition of seven advanced gas-cooled reactor sites, currently managed by EDF, for decommissioning, as well as other future missions.
NUCLEAR FUEL THE RT-1 REPROCESSING plant of Russia’s Mayak Production Association has begun processing fuel from the TIBR transportable pulsed fast reactor reactor. The fuel comprises a metal alloy of uranium and molybdenum with elements of zirconium hydride. TIBR is a research pulsed nuclear installation, which produces a powerful source of neutrons necessary for studying the physical properties of the atomic nucleus.
Czech Republic
Final Dukovany bids submitted Czech power utility ČEZ Group’s subsidiary Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II) has received three final bids for the construction of a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. US-based Westinghouse, France’s EDF and
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have all submitted binding bids for Dukovany 5 and non-binding bids for the other three proposed nuclear units. Westinghouse is proposing its AP1000, KHNP
has offered its APR1000 design based on the APR1400 and EDF is putting forward its EPR1200 (a smaller version of its standard EPR). These are all pressurised water reactors. Russia and China were excluded from bidding for the contract in 2021. Four Russian-designed VVER-440 units have been operating at the Dukovany site since 1985-1987. In addition, two VVER-1000 units are operating at the Temelín NPP which began operation in 2000 and 2002. The Dukovany units will be decommissioned no later than 2045-2047. “We are happy to confirm the strong interest
of all three bidders in constructing a new nuclear power plant in Czechia, said Tomáš Pleskač, Board member and Director of ČEZ’s New Energy Division. “We have seen careful preparation by all bidders since the tender was launched in March last year. Now we will evaluate the bids and, according to the contract with the state, we will submit the evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry & Trade and then to the Czech government for final approval.”
The bids were submitted electronically using special encryption and a uniquely secure storage. It is expected that the contracts will be finalized within the next year. After the final signing of the contracts, the project documentation will be prepared so that the new unit will be ready for trial operation in 2036, ČEZ said. The new Dukovany unit will be built next to the existing power plant and will replace part of its capacity in the future. Since the Ministry of the Environment issued a positive Environmental Impact Assessment opinion in 2019, EDU II has received a Siting Permit from the State Office for Nuclear Safety and a Generating Plant Authorisation from the Ministry of Industry & Trade in 2021. A zoning decision for the new units has also recently been issued by the Ministry of Industry & Trade.
The bid submitted by Westinghouse Electric
Company, along with construction partner Bechtel, is for one AP1000 unit with the potential for a second unit at Dukovany and two additional units at the Temelin site. EDF’s bid is for one EPR1200 reactor at Dukovany and up to four units in the Czech Republic. South Korea’s KHNP is proposing its III+ generation APR1000 which was developed based on its operating OPR1000 reactors but also incorporating safety features of the APR1400, which are in operation in the UAE as well as South Korea.
10 | December 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
Norway Halden SMR mooted Norway’s Halden municipality, Norsk Kjernekraft and Østfold Energi are collaborating to investigate Halden as the possible location for a nuclear power plant using small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The three parties have established Halden
Kjernekraft to investigate the possibilities of producing electricity using nuclear power in Halden. The Halden Kjernekraft company will initially carry out investigations and surveys as the basis for future decisions on deployment of nuclear technology. The initiative to explore SMRs came from the
Halden municipality, which has more than 60 years of experience hosting a research reactor at the Institute of Energy Technology (IFE). The IFE, which was founded in 1948 to develop Norway’s nuclear research programme, built and operated four research reactors – three in Kjeller and one in Halden. The Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR) went into operation in 1959 and was used for a wide range of safety- related research as part of an OECD-NEA run project. The reactor was licensed to operate until 2020. However, in 2018, while temporarily shut down due to a safety valve failure, it was decided that licence renewal would not be pursued and the reactor would not be restarted for economic reasons. The decision to explore new nuclear capacity
is based in part on the challenging situation in parts of Norway. Today there is a power deficit in Oslo, Akershus and Østfold of 16 TWh. In addition, power system operator Statnett has indicated that there is no available capacity to increase consumption without new production and network capacity in Eastern Norway. This is not expected to be added until 2035 with current plans and has major consequences for Østfold. “The time is ripe to investigate whether
small, modular reactors can be part of the solution to the power shortage in Østfold,” said Roar Vevelstad, municipal director in Halden municipality. “We must explore all possibilities and not be afraid of knowledge,” he added. Norsk Kjernekraft earlier submitted a
proposal to Norway’s Ministry of Oil & Energy for an assessment to build an SMR power plant as “the first formal step towards the investigation of a concrete NPP in Norway”. According to the preliminary plan, the plant would be sited in a common industrial area in the border area between Aure and Heim municipalities. The NPP will consist of several SMRs, which together will produce around 12.5 TWh annually. This would increase Norway’s power production by approximately 8%. Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer
said Aure and Heim are on side “and with political will and acceptance among the citizens, we can have nuclear power in place in 10 years, depending on how quickly the authorities process the application”.
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