A World Round Up on the State of Nuclear Energy
Dominion restores off-site power to North Anna
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 23, 2011 PRNewswire -- Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna Power Station has restored off-site power, eliminating the need to rely on its back-up generators. The station remains in an Alert, the second lowest of the four emergency classifications of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The station's two nuclear reactors shut down following an earthquake near the station that occurred at 1:51 p.m. EDT yesterday. The reactors shut down automatically and no damage has been reported to systems required to maintain the station in a safe condition. Several aftershocks felt in the region that occurred later today did not affect the station.
As designed, four diesel generators supplied power to the station while the off-site power was unavailable. One of the four generators was taken off-line to repair a generator coolant leak, but a fifth generator at the station was activated to replace it until the offsite power was restored.
Repairs are complete to the diesel generator.
The company also inspected the Lake Anna Dam after the earthquake and determined it sustained no damage. Station inspections are continuing to assure no damage has resulted from the seismic event.
No release of radioactive material has occurred beyond those minor releases associated with normal station operations.
The earthquake was felt at the company's other nuclear power station, Surry Power Station in southeast Virginia, but not as strongly. Both units at Surry continue to operate safely. Surry has exited a Notification of Unusual Event (NOUE) it declared earlier today, the least serious of four NRC emergency classifications.
U.S. nuclear power stations, including Dominion's four stations, were built to seismic standards for their regions.
Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D). Headquartered in Richmond, Va., Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy ambitions
Curbing domestic oil use is a key driver
Excerpted from the Dan Yurman
Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's point man on nuclear energy. (Photo: Saudi Arabia Embassy, Washington, DC)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) plans to build 16 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years spending an estimated $7 billion on each plant. The $112 billion investment, which includes capacity to become a regional exporter of electricity, will provide one-fifth of the Kingdom’s electricity for industrial and residential use and, critically, for desalinization of sea water.
Swapping nukes for oil drums
The main driver for KSA’s plans to build reactors is that at the rate that it is burning its own oil, it may have substantially less to export in just a decade or so. At a minimum, it may lose the excess capacity the rest of the world relies on when there are disruptions in supplies from other countries. One scenario suggested by energy analysts that follow oil markets is that within two decades most of the KSA output would be used for domestic consumption.
Under the terms of the agreement, the group jointly would pursue engineering, procurement, construction, and operations of nuclear power plants using Toshiba’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), which is a leading-edge nuclear power plant technology with already proven records of performance, reliability, and operation in Japan. The group also is capable of utilizing Westinghouse AP1000 technology.
Facts on South Korea's Ever Amititious Nuclear Goals From WNN August 2011
South Korea is set to become a major world nuclear energy country, exporting technology. It won a $20 billion contract to supply four nuclear rectors to UAE.
Nuclear energy is a strategic priority for South Korea and capacity is planned to increase by 56% to 27.3 GWe by 2020, and then to 43 GWe by 2030.
Today 21 reactors provide almost 40% of South Korea's electricity from 18.7 GWe of plant.
Generation capacity of 72.5 GWe in 2008 is expected to grow to 88 GWe total in 2017, 26.6 GWe (30%) of this nuclear, supplying 47% of demand (214 TWh). In 2008 nuclear capacity was 17.7 GWe net (24% of total), supplying 36% of demand (151 billion kWh gross, 144 billion kWh net in 2008). In 2020 nuclear capacity of 27.3 GWe is expected to supply 226 billion kWh - 43.4% of electricity, rising to 48% in 2022, though more recent projections suggest 50% by 2020, with the use of gas strongly reduced. By 2030 the government expects nuclear to supply 59% of the power (333 TWh), from 41% of the installed capacity. This will require expanding nuclear capacity from 26% of total, adding about 24 GWe nuclear by 2030. In 2022 nuclear capacity of 32.9 GWe is expected to be 32.6% of the national total of 100.9 GWe.
Brazil outlines post-Fukushima actions , expansion on target Eletronuclear has announced a five-year program of actions to evaluate and improve safety, security and reliability at Brazil's only operating nuclear power plant in response to the Fukushima accident.
The state company owns and operates two pressurized water reactors at Angra, while a third reactor is under construction there and due to enter commercial operation in 2016. A working group it set up in response to the 11 March earthquake and tsunami that hit the Japanese nuclear power plant has now delivered its first report, and a budget of BRL300 million ($187 million) has been allocated to a five-year plan of improvements to nuclear safety and security for this sole nuclear power site.
The reviews are not expected to have any impact on Brazil's plans for future nuclear power plants beyond the incorporation of any technical lessons learned, the company said. From about 2015 the country wants to begin work on a new four-reactor nuclear power plant in the country's northeast and Eletronuclear had been expected to present a range of siting options for that and further build in the middle of this year.
Decision to build Bellefonte 1
Tennessee Valley Authority has decided to complete a nuclear reactor at Bellefonte - selling and leasing back another new reactor to pay for it.
The decision yesterday by TVA's board brings to an end some five years of deliberation by the non-profit firm that manages power, water and other resources in the US state. Bellefonte 1 is a Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactor currently considered 55% complete. A $4.9 billion project should see it begin operation by 2020 to generate 1260 MWe.
Commissioning new Russian nuclear reactor
Hot tests are underway at the forthcoming new reactor of Kalinin nuclear power plant, about 200 kilometres northwest of Moscow.
Kalinin 4 is a V-320 model VVER-1000 pressurized water reactor - the same as unit 3, also approved in 1985 but built slowly to start in 2004. Units 1 and 2 at the site are V-338 model VVER-1000s constructed in the early 1980s.
The reactor is being constructed by Nizhny Novgorod-based Atomenergoproekt for plant owner Rosenergoatom. It is slated to begin commercial operation in October and take Russia's nuclear generation capacity to over 24,000 MWe.
AP1000 crane on way to China
The first polar crane for use at the AP1000 reactors currently under construction at Sanmen, China, has begun its journey from the manufacturing plant in the USA, Westinghouse announced, as it talks to a potential partner in the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Westinghouse has signed a memorandum of understanding with Czech engineering-supply company I&C Energo to cooperate in instrumentation and control systems for potential new AP1000 units in Czech Republic. It also covers the associated testing and start-up services.
Westinghouse has submitted a tender bid to Czech utility CEZ to construct two AP1000 units at the Temelin plant, which already houses two Russian-supplied VVER reactors. Further bids have been placed by Russia's AtomStroyExport, in a consortium with Czech company Skoda JS and Russia's Gidropress, as well as France's Areva.