May-June 2019 NPJ

10 NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2019 New Energy Plant Vogtle A Bechtel -led team placed the massive dome on a new nuclear reactor building at Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia, the site of the only nuclear power facilities currently under construction in the U.S. When complete, Plant Vogtle will be the nation’s largest generator of carbon-free electricity. Weighing approximately 745 tons and measuring 130 feet in diameter, the dome, known as the “top head,” is the roof of the high-integrity steel structure that contains Unit 3’s nuclear reactor. The dome was lifted into place by a giant crane. The setting was completed by 9:45 a.m. on March 22, 2019, following a complex rigging operation that lasted 90 minutes. The milestone drew the attendance of several dignitaries and executives, including U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue; Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp; President of North America’s Building Trades Unions Sean McGarvey; Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Tom Fanning; and, representing Plant Vogtle owners, Georgia Power Chairman, President and CEO Paul Bowers. The placement follows the completed installation of Unit 3’s nuclear steam supply system — the reactors, reactor coolant pumps, steam generators, pressurizer and associated piping. These are the essential elements of the unit’s nuclear power system, used to generate the steam needed to drive the unit’s turbine generator to produce electricity. Contact: Fred deSousa, Bechtel, telephone: (703) 429 6435, email: tfdesous@Bechtel.com . Hualong One Cold functional tests began on a reactor of China’s first nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design. The test was conducted on a circuit of the No. 5 nuclear power unit in the city of Fuqing, eastern China’s Fujian Province, to evaluate the performance of the circuit system and its supporting facilities under high-pressure conditions, according to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The CNNC said the test started 50 days ahead of schedule. Hualong One reactors were jointly designed by two nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and the CNNC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014. China has since approved the use of Hualong One technology to build two reactors in Fujian, the No. 5 and No. 6 units. Contact: CNNC, website: en.cnnc. com.cn Novovoronezh NPP-2 On May 1, 2019, the power startup of the Novovoronezh NPP-2, Russia, an affiliate of the Rosenergoatom Joint- Stock Company (a part of the Electric Power Division of the Rosatom State corporation) 2nd power block took place. The innovative 3+ generation VVER- 1200 power block was synchronized with the grid and achieved the capacity of 240 megawatts. Prior to that, the team has conducted a steam to turbine and did a test idle run. A lot of trials at different stages of low-power testing were held alongside the tests and verifications of different pieces of equipment – all of those aimed to confirm that the power block can be operated in a reliable and safe fashion. The Novovoronezh NPP-2 2nd power block is the third one among the Russian power blocks of its kind. The first power block Novovoronezh NPP- 2 launched was in 2016, and since its operational launch, it has delivered 18.3 billion kilowatt-hours. The second was launched at the Leningrad NPP-2 in 2017. Contact: Andrey V. Timonov, Rosenergoatom, Joint-Stock Company, telephone: 7 (495) 647-45-76, email: timonov-av@rosenergoatom.ru. Cernavoda NPP SN Nuclearelectrica SA and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and CGN Central and Eastern Europe Investment (Ro) Co. S.A (CEERI) announced on May 8th 2019 that they have signed the Investors Agreement in the preliminary form (PIA) regarding the continuation of the Romanian Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 Project. The signing ceremony of the agreement took place at the Ministry of Energy building, in the presence of the Vice Prime-Minister Mr. Viorel Stefan, of the Minister of Energy, Mr. Anton Anton, of Madam Jiang Yu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Romania and of Mr. Guan Gang, Economic Counselor of the People’s Republic of China to Romania. Contact: Societatea Nationala NUCLEARELECTRICA S.A, telephone: 4021 203 82 00, Fax +4021 316 94 00, email: office@nuclearelectrica.ro. Mochovce 3 Slovakia’s new reactor Mochovce 3 has successfully completed hot testing. Owner Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) said the plant could be ready for fuel loading this summer, although it will then have to wait for regulatory approval which could take up to eight months. Mochovce 3 is 98.8% complete, SE said, the remainder of work being the process to test and prove its safety and operational systems to satisfy regulators to grant licences to proceed to operation. SE announced the conclusion of hot hydrostatic testing on April 15, 2019, the verification of the leak- tightness of the reactor cooling system and the containment under operational conditions. Under the observation of regulators, SE said, the system met expectations at 50% overpressure. The tests also cover performance of the secondary circuit, which carries steam to the turbine generator, as well as systems for control, security, heating, cooling and ventilation. Source: World Nuclear News , website: www.world-nuclear-news.org Shin Kori 4 Unit 4 of the Shin Kori nuclear power plant was connected to the electricity grid on April 22, 2019, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced. (Continued on page 14)