Nuclear Plant Journal, January-February 2014 NuclearPlantJournal.com
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Belarus launched a tender for the
construction of the plant and invited bids
from Russian state nuclear enterprise
Rosatom
, Areva and Westinghouse-
Toshiba. The 1200 MWe AES-2006
model VVER pressurized water reactor
design, developed by the Saint Petersburg
AtomEnergoProekt, has been selected for
use at the plant.
The main construction contract was
awarded to AtomStroyExport (ASE) in
October 2011, while a $10 billion turnkey
contract was finalized between Belarus
and Rosatom in July 2012 for the supply
of the two reactors.
The construction time for the first
unit is expected to be 60 months after
first concrete, with the beginning of the
physical start-up and commissioning of
the unit due in 2018. The timetable for
the second unit will be about 18 months
behind it, with commissioning set for
July 2020.
Contact: Sergei Novikov, telephone:
7 499 949 4412, fax: 7 499 949 2722,
email:
Russia
Twenty eight large nuclear power
units will be built in Russia before 2030,
President of Russia Vladimir Putin
recently stated.
“In Russia’s current energy mix, a
share of nuclear power is not big, just
16%. Our goal is to reach 25%.
The President added that in addition
to this number
ROSATOM
had got
orders for building 22 nuclear power
units abroad.
Putin expressed his opinion that the
further development of nuclear power in
the world is inevitable, in spite of the fact
that after the Fukushima-Daiichi accident
two countries – Germany and Japan –
abandoned development in this area.
Contact: Sergei Novikov, telephone:
7 499 949 4412, fax: 7 499 949 2722,
email:
AP1000 New Build
Westinghouse Electric Company
announced that Toshiba Corporation has
agreed in principle to buy a 60 percent
share in the NuGeneration Limited
(NuGen) Moorside project in West
Cumbria, U.K., and they intend to move
forward with the AP1000 new-build
project in partnership with GDF SUEZ.
The agreement provides that three
Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors
with a combined capacity of 3.4 GW will
be built on the U.K. site. The first unit is
expected to be online in 2024, helping
to support the U.K. government’s low
carbon and energy security objectives
at a time when existing power plants
are retiring and low-carbon generation
is required to meet national and
international commitments. When fully
operational, the Moorside site is expected
to deliver approximately seven percent of
the electricity requirements in the U.K.
The construction of these new units
will create thousands of skilled jobs over
the next decade. The deal is expected
to significantly boost local, regional
and national U.K. economies, with a
large portion of the project accessible
to the U.K. supply chain. Westinghouse
Springfields, a U.K.-licensed fuel
manufacturing facility near Preston in
Northwest England, will manufacture
the fuel for the new AP1000 reactors.
The facility currently manufactures fuel
for the entire U.K. advanced gas-cooled
reactor fleet, and pressurized water
reactor fuel for export.
Contact: Sheila Holt, telephone:
Lungmen
The Lungmen nuclear power plant,
Taiwan, could be in operation by the
end of 2014 or early 2015, according
to reported statements from Taiwanese
planners.
A batch of systems tests at
Lungmen 1 should be finished by April
2014, with ‘full testing’ complete by the
end of June 2014. Loading of nuclear
fuel is expected in September 2014, said
direct quotes from the ministry.
The two Advanced Boiling Water
Reactor units at Lungmen in the north of
the island have had a troubled history. The
first unit started construction exactly 16
years ago on January 10, 1998. Taipower’s
initial plan had been to secure one main
contractor for engineering, procurement
and construction of the units, but this
failed and instead it awarded separate
contracts to GE for the nuclear reactors,
Mitsubishi for the turbines and various
other contractors for the remainder.
When the two reactors were about
one-third complete, a new cabinet
cancelled the project and triggered a
year-long delay that eventually ended
with a government resolution in favor
of construction. This hiatus, plus project
management and engineering problems,
pushed up the projected cost significantly.
When in operation, the Lungmen
units will produce 1350 MWe each and
take nuclear power’s share of power
generation on Taiwan to around 20%
compared to the 17% that six reactors
produce now. These units are only
allowed a 40-year lifespan under current
energy policies, which means the oldest
units, at Chinshan, would close in 2018
and 2019.
Contact: Source:
World Nuclear News
,
website:
Sweden
Vattenfall has officially started a
decade-long public consultation into
new nuclear build, which it expects to be
necessary after current reactors retire.
The consultation centers on
Vattenfall’s two oldest units at the
Ringhals nuclear power plant, which
have operated since the mid-1970s and
are expected to close in the second half of
the 2020s. Sweden’s state-owned utility
said that in order to have the option of
replacing them with new units, “extensive
investigative work needs to be carried out
now” in time for decisions to be made in
2020.
To replace any of its reactors,
Vattenfall must secure a license from
government under the Nuclear Activities
Act, the Environmental Code and the
Planning and Building Act. The company
spent about six months in discussions
with municipalities nearby and close to
its Forsmark nuclear power plant.
Contact: Source:
World Nuclear News
,
website:
.
