Page 8 - Nuclear Plant Journal May-June 2012
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8
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2012
New Energy
China
AREVA
announced the arrival in
China, at the beginning of April, 2012,
of the first two steam generators and
the pressurizer for Unit 1 on the site of
the Taishan EPR™ power plant. This
delivery of heavy components for the
primary reactor coolant system marks an
important step forward in the construction
of the first EPR™ reactor in China.
After leaving the port by the
AREVA's Chalon-St Marcel plant, these
heavy components were first transported
to Fos-sur-Mer in the South of France,
before being shipped onwards by sea
to the Taishan site where they are being
kept in storage awaiting installation. The
two remaining generators and the reactor
pressure vessel internals are currently
being transported to the site where they
are expected to arrive in the coming
weeks.
Completed in record time, the
manufacturing of the steam generators
has benefited from the experience gained
by the AREVA's Chalon-St Marcel plant
in the supply of heavy components
for EPR™ construction projects. The
manufacturing time for these generators,
which are 25 meters (82.02 feet) long
and weigh 550 tons each, has been
reduced by nearly 40 % compared to
those manufactured previously for other
EPR™ reactors.
Contact: Patricia Marie, telephone:
Jordan
JAEC (Jordan Atomic Energy
Commission)
has
completed
its
evaluation to select a technology in order
to build the first nuclear reactor in Jordan.
JAEC has conducted, since the last two
years, a methodical scrutiny of three
technologies regarding nuclear power
plant technology.
The evaluation has been performed
with the objective of selecting the most
appropriate technology fitting best Jordan
needs and most appropriately ensuring
the highest possible safety levels.
It
concluded
that ATMEA1
technology, developed by the French-
Japanese team, made up of
AREVA
,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and
their 50/50 joint-venture ATMEA, is well
fitting Jordan needs and requirements both
in technical and economical terms. This
decision represents a significant milestone
in the technological development of
ATMEA 1, a new world-class model of
1,100 MWe nuclear power reactor.
However, JAEC also decided
to continue discussions, during the
next phase of its evaluation, with two
qualified bidders, including AREVA-
MHI-ATMEA. During that phase some
outstanding topics will be reviewed in
more detail and specific information from
selected site and from operating company
will be integrated.
This is a key achievement made by
JAEC in the process of providing Jordan
with a competitive and stable source of
energy, allowing the Kingdom to enter
into a new phase of its development.
Contact: Patricia Marie, telephone:
Canada
The Federal Government has
responded to the recommendations of
the Joint Review Panel and approved
the Darlington New Nuclear Project
Environmental Assessment (EA).
“OPG (
Ontario Power Generation
)
is pleased with the Federal Government’s
decision,” said Albert Sweetnam, OPG’s
Executive Vice President, Nuclear
Projects. “We were confident in the
conclusions of our extensive studies,
however independent review and
confirmation provides added assurance
that the project will not result in any
significant adverse environmental effects,
given mitigation.”
OPG now awaits a decision by the
Joint Review Panel, as a panel of the
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission,
on the next key milestone: the issuance
of the site preparation license. The site
preparation license is the first of three
licenses required to build and operate a
new nuclear facility in Canada.
Contact: telephone: (416) 592-4008.
V.C. Summer
South Carolina Electric & Gas
Company
(SCE&G), principal subsidiary
of SCANA Corporation, and Santee
Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned
electric and water utility, have received
approval for combined construction
and operating licenses (COLs) from the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
for two new nuclear units at V. C. Summer
Station in Jenkinsville, South Carolina.
“Receiving approval of our licenses
to construct and operate units 2 and 3 at
V.C. Summer is a significant event for
our company and marks the culmination
of an intense review by the NRC,” said
Kevin Marsh, chairman and CEO of
SCANA. “We look forward to building
these two new nuclear units to enhance
our ability to meet the energy needs of
our customers.”
About 1,000 workers are currently
engaged in early-site preparation work
at the V.C. Summer construction site.
The project will peak at about 3,000
construction craft workers over the course
of three to four years. The two units, each
with a capacity of 1,117 megawatts, will
then add 600 to 800 permanent jobs when
they start generating electricity.
Contact:
Rhonda
O’Banion,
telephone: (800) 562-9308, email:
Watts Bar
The Tennessee Valley Authority
board of directors on Thursday approved
continuingwith construction of the second
generating unit at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant
in accordance with a revised estimate,
furthering TVA’s progress toward its
vision to be a leader in providing low-
cost, reliable and cleaner energy.
The revised estimate for completing
Watts Bar Unit 2 was announced in early
April after TVA put new leadership in
place and conducted a seven-month, top-
to-bottom analysis of the construction
project. The assessment identified
corrective actions for project management
and a high-confidence cost estimate and
milestone schedule. The revised estimate
includes additional funding of $1.5
billion to $2 billion, bringing the total
cost to complete the unit to the range of
$4 billion to $4.5 billion, with the most
likely estimate of $4.2 billion. Estimated
completion is between September and
December 2015. Improvements in how
the site is managed and work is done are
already under way.
Contact: Barbara Martocci,
telephone: (865) 632-8632.
