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Check out the last week's top stories below.
ROMANIA SIGNS CERNAVODA EXPANSION CONTRACT
An engineering, procurement & construction management (EPCM) contract for the completion of units 3 and 4 at Romania’s Cernavoda NPP has been signed with the FCSA Joint Venture including 福陆 , AtkinsRéalis , Ansaldo Nucleare and Sargent & Lundy Energie.
EnergoNuclear SA , a subsidiary of Romanian nuclear utility SN Nuclearelectrica (SNN) signed the contract during a ceremony at the United Nations COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Also attending the ceremony were Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja , US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and officials from Environment & Climate Change Canada and the Italian government.
TRILLO NPP TO OPERATE UNTIL 2034
Spanish nuclear operator Centrales Nucleares Almaraz-Trillo, AIE (CNAT) has received notification a ministerial decree authorising it to operate the single unit Trillo NPP in Guadalajara province until 16 November 2034. The 1,066 MWe pressurised water reactor began commercial operation in August 1988. The authorisation came after the Ministry for Ecological Transition & Demographic Challenge (MITECO) considered a favourable report in July by the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN – Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear).
CNAT said this was a recognition of the work undertaken by the Trillo NPP as well as recent investment to improve security and implement technological modernisation. The authorisation was requested in accordance with the Closing Protocol signed in 2019, which indicated that Trillo would close in 2035.
HUNTERSTON B DECOMMISSIONING APPROVED
The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has granted consent to EDF Energy’s application to start decommissioning the Hunterston B nuclear power station. This follows a public consultation and a detailed assessment by ONR specialist inspectors of EDF’s environmental statement.
The statement included a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed decommissioning project at the North Ayrshire site in Scotland, along with mitigation measures designed to prevent or reduce any significant adverse environmental impacts.
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JAPAN LAUNCHES FAST FUSION POWER PROJECT
Japan’s FAST Project Office proudly announces the launch of the FAST (Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) project, which aims to achieve fusion-based power generation by the end of the 2030s.
FAST aims to generate and sustain a plasma of deuterium-tritium (D-T) reactions, demonstrating an integrated fusion energy system that combines energy conversion including electricity generation and fuel technologies. The project will employ a tokamak configuration, chosen for its well-established data and scalability. FAST will address remaining technical challenges enroute to commercial fusion power plants. It brings together top researchers from prominent institutions, along with industrial and international partners from Japan, the UK, the US, and Canada.
COLD TESTING COMPLETE AT FIRST SAN’AO UNIT
Cold functional tests have been completed at unit 1 of China’s San’ao NPP in Zhejiang province, according to China General Nuclear (CGN). The aim of the tests is to verify the leak-tightness of the primary circuit and components (pressure vessels, pipelines and valves of both the nuclear and conventional islands) and to clean the main circulation pipes. The tests are the first time the reactor systems are operated together with the auxiliary systems.
“The primary circuit pressure boundary of the unit was intact and well sealed, marking the full transition of the nuclear power unit from the installation stage to the commissioning stage,” CGN said.
LANL CONDUCTS FIRST HALEU FUEL EXPERIMENT IN TWO DECADES
For the first time in more than two decades, researchers at the US Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have performed critical experiment using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel. The Deimos experiment was performed at the National Criticality Experiments Research Centre (NCERC) outside of Las Vegas, operated by LANL at the Nevada National Security Site.
The experiment ties into a larger effort between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to provide new design and safety related data on the use, storage, and transportation of HALEU. Currently there are few benchmarks for HALEU, which is enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235. The Deimos project aims to support licensing of HALEU that many advanced reactor designs require. “The Deimos experiment is an important step toward deploying HALEU-fuelled nuclear reactors,” said LANL programme manager for nuclear energy, Chris Stanek.
FRANCE WEIGHS ZERO-INTEREST REACTOR LOANS
Plans to provide an interest-free reactor development loan to EDF are reportedly being explored by the French government. According to Reuters, the loans will be earmarked for the construction of six new reactors.
The plans also reportedly include a long-term price guarantee, a so-called contract for difference (CfD).
Construction of the first of six planned reactors is due to begin in 2027 under plans set out by President Macron in 2022. However, the state-backed finance agreement would support the development and bridge any private sector investment gaps.
ORANO COMPLETES REPATRIATION OF WASTE TO GERMANY
The 13th and final rail shipment carrying vitrified high-level nuclear waste (HLW) has reached the site of Germany’s intermediate storage facility in Philippsburg. This transport settles all commitments relating to contracts for the recycling of used fuel signed between 阿海珐 and German utilities, PreussenElektra , RWE , EnBW and Vattenfall , since 1977.
From 1977 to 1991, contracts for the treatment of used fuel were signed with the four German electricity utility companies for the recycling of fuel elements from German nuclear reactors as well as the conditioning of residual waste. Some 5,310 tonnes of fuel were processed by Orano at its La Hague facility.
DARLINGTON 1 REFURBISHMENT COMPLETED AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Unit 1, the third of four units to be refurbished at Canada’s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, has completed its overhaul five months ahead of schedule and will soon be reconnected to the grid. The 875 MWe unit 1 at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) Darlington plant was taken offline for refurbishment in February 2022 after setting a world record by operating for more than 1,000 days straight.
Units 2&3 were successfully refurbished in 2020 and 2023 and work is underway at unit 4, which is currently in the reactor rebuilding phase. Unit 3 returned to service 169 days ahead of schedule. Work is progressing on schedule to be completed by the end of 2026, ending completing the ambitious 10-year, CAD12.8bn ($9.7bn) project.
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