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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2013
Corporation...
(Continued from page 9)
company’s Engineering, Construction
& Maintenance group, has named Eric
Hale as Vice President of Business
Development, Nuclear. In this role,
Hale will be responsible for the strategic
growth and development of the firm’s
nuclear business. He brings more than 20
years of experience in the power industry
and a proven track record of relationship
building, market development and
strategic sales.
Hale holds a BS in nuclear
engineering from the University of
Massachusetts at Lowell.
Contact:
Steve
Wanczyk,
Braithwaite Communications, telephone:
Memorandum of
Understanding
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
(GEH) has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with Exelon
Nuclear Partners (ENP) to discuss the
feasibility of collaborating on future
nuclear power projects in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is planning
to add 17.6 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear
power generation by 2032 to diversify its
domestic energy supplies.
ENP is a division of Exelon
Generation LLC, the largest nuclear
fleet operator in the United States with
18 reactors at 11 stations. ENP works
with companies around the world to
develop and operate low-carbon nuclear
power plants. GEH is part of a global
nuclear alliance of General Electric and
Hitachi Ltd, and is the leading provider
of advanced boiling water reactor (BWR)
technology in the world.
The new MOU calls for GEH and
ENP to explore the feasibility of providing
the Kingdom with GEH’s advanced BWR
technology, engineering, procurement and
project management expertise, combined
with Exelon’s operational best practices
and other services. GEH and ENP have
a long and successful history of working
together on nuclear plant projects, most
notably evidenced by Exelon’s current
operation of 12 GE-built nuclear plants in
the United States.
King Abdullah City for Atomic and
Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE), the
organization overseeing Saudi Arabia’s
nuclear energy program, plans to build
up to 16 nuclear reactors over the next
20 years, and is evaluating several light
water reactor designs, including GEH’s
Generation III+ Economic Simplified
Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) and
Generation III Advanced Boiling Water
Reactor (ABWR) models.
Contact:
Christopher
White,
telephone: (910) 819-6121, email:
.
Safety Analysis
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
(GEH)
announced plans for the application
of state-of-the-art loss of coolant
accident safety analysis computer code
methodology, TRACG LOCA, at BKW’s
nuclear power plant Mühleberg (KKM)
in Switzerland.
The proprietary TRACG LOCA
computer code represents state-of-the-art
thermal-hydraulic system codes available
for BWR safety analysis, capturing
improved physical models and uncertainty
analysis capabilities, and implements
numerous advancements over prior
computational tools. Implementation of
this methodology and the results of its
safety analysis will follow BKW’s receipt
of approval from Switzerland’s Federal
Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI)
planned for 2014.
TRACG
LOCA
methodology
is a best-estimate plus uncertainties
technique that differs from the traditional
conservative analysis methods including
CFR 50.46 Appendix K conditions.
The methodology addresses potential
uncertainties and realistic assumptions,
ensuring that plant safety is upheld with a
rigorous analysis basis. A key commercial
advantage of using this methodology
includes the possible improvement in the
fuel LOCA limit margins. Best-estimate
methods could also provide additional
benefits in terms of amendment of
Emergency Core Cooling System
(ECCS) performance specifications such
as diesel start times, injection capacities,
and equipment operability requirements,
which may result in improved equipment
reliability. Using this technique, more
favorable peak cladding temperature
(PCT) and fuel thermal limit results may
be obtained. Other advantages from this
realistic modeling include the ability to
analyze scenarios not normally required
by regulations.
GEH is currently in the process
of obtaining U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) approval for this
new methodology for ECCS performance
evaluation based on TRACG. Approval
for the analysis of non-LOCA transients
and events with TRACG has already been
obtained from the NRC.
Contact:
Christopher
White,
telephone: (910) 819-6121, email:
Small Modular Reactors
Rolls-Royce
has announced that it
is supporting US-based NuScale Power
LLC in its submission to the United
States Department of Energy’s (US DOE)
funding opportunity announcement to
bring scalable, small modular reactor
technology to market by 2025.
The development of clean and
affordable nuclear power options is a
key element of the DOE Nuclear Energy
Research and Development Roadmap.
High priority is placed upon accelerating
timelines for the commercialization and
deployment of small modular reactor
(SMR) technologies through its SMR
Licensing Technical Support program.
The latest US DOE funding
opportunity announcement is focused
on optimizing small modular reactor
efficiency, operations and designs
through innovative and effective solutions
for enhanced safety, operations and
performance. The US DoE aims to solicit
