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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, March-April 2015
New Energy
Shin-Wolsong
On February 26, 2015,
Korea Hydro
& Nuclear Power
successfully achieved
the network synchronization and system
connection of Shin-Wolsong Reactor #2
for the first time.
This
synchronization
followed
trial runs such as the hot functional test
and initial criticality since the first fuel
loading on November 14, 2014. It has
only been 104 days since South Korea’s
Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
(NSSC) issued an operating license to
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power for the
reactor on November 13, 2014.
An improved Korean standard
nuclear power plant (KSNP), Shin-
Wolsong Reactor #2 has been built to
ensure increased safety and reliability
by using the latest technology –
including optimized building allocation
and an ergonomically designed main
control room – and years of experience
in operating nuclear power plants.
Significantly, taking a lesson from the
Fukushima nuclear plant accident, the
reactor was loaded with upgraded safety
facilities, including mobile generators
and automatic shutdown equipment that
functions in the event of an earthquake.
Contact: Korea Hydro & Nuclear
Power, website: cms.khnp.co.kr/eng
Watts Bar 2
The
Tennessee Valley Authority’s
Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 has
cleared a major milestone toward being
the country’s first new nuclear generation
of the 21st century. A key advisory group
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
has recommended moving forward with
the process to grant an operating license
for Watts Bar Unit 2.
In a letter to the NRC Chairman,
the Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards noted that “there is reasonable
assurance that WBN 2 can operate as the
second unit of the dual unit Watts Bar
Nuclear Plant without undue risk to the
health and safety of the public.”
As an independent body within the
NRC, theAdvisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards made the recommendation
to proceed with the licensing process
after reviewing the results of hundreds
of detailed inspections and thousands of
pages of documentation to ensure that
Watts Bar Unit 2 will meet regulations
and standards for safe and efficient
operation. Their recommendation is part
of the information NRC commissioners
will consider when making a final
decision on issuing an operating license
for Watts Bar Unit 2.
Watts Bar Unit 2 is approximately
95 percent complete and remains on
target to begin commercial operations
between September 2015 and June 2016
at a total cost of between $4.0 billion to
$4.5 billion.
Contact: Scott Brooks, telephone:
(865) 632-6000.
Atucha
The second unit of the Atucha
nuclear power plant in Argentina reached
100% of its rated power, completing an
increase in the share of nuclear power in
the country’s electricity mix from 7% to
10%.
Now, the National Atomic Energy
Commission is attracting “new young
blood” to its workforce at the uranium
enrichment plant at Pilcaniyeu, President
Cristina Fernandez said, stressing
that Argentina is a leader in nuclear
nonproliferation. Today, Argentina has
129 companies in the nuclear power
sector and 5220 specialists.
Atucha 1 began operating in 1974
and in 1979 construction of Atucha 2 was
ordered following a government decision
to have four more units coming into
operation in 1987-1997. Then in August
2006, the government announced a $3.5
billion strategic plan for the country’s
nuclear power sector. This involved
completing Atucha 2 and extending
the operating lifetimes of Atucha 1 and
Embalse.
Contact:
World Nuclear News
,
website:
Hongyanhe
The Chinese government has
approved construction of two more units
at the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant
in Liaoning province, marking the first
approval for new reactors in four years.
China General Nuclear (CGN)
announced that it had received a document
from the National Development and
Reform
Commission
confirming
that approval had been granted for
construction of Hongyanhe units 5 and 6.
According to Chinese media reports,
construction of Hongyanhe units 5 and 6
was formally approved at February 17,
2015 meeting of the State Council. The
National Energy Board is reported to
have also recently approved the project.
CGN must now obtain construction
permits from the National Nuclear
Security Administration for the two units.
Credit:
World Nuclear News
,
website:
Egypt
Egypt and Russia have agreed to
build a nuclear power plant together and
officials from both countries have signed
a memorandum of understanding on the
proposed project.
Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-
Sissi, announced the plan during a joint
press conference in Cairo with Russian
President Vladimir Putin who is on a state
visit to Egypt.
Within the framework of the visit,
Russian state nuclear corporation
Rosatom and the Egyptian Ministry
of Electricity and Renewable Energy
“agreed to launch detailed discussions on
the prospective project,” Rosatom said in
a statement.
Rusatom Overseas and Egyptian
Nuclear Power Plants Authority have
signed a project development agreement
for a nuclear power plant with a
desalination facility.
Sergey Kirienko, Rosatom director
general, said the agreement provides for
the construction of two nuclear power
units, with the prospect of a further two.
Credit:
World Nuclear News
,
website:
