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Draft design completed for Russia’s Shelf-M microreactor
23 December, 2022
Russia’s NA Dollezhal Scientific Research & Design Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET, part of Rosatom) has completed the development of design documentation for the Shelf-M reactor for a low-power NPP (ASMM) at the preliminary design stage. Specialists have selected the main technical solutions and structural elements, worked out the structural and functional schemes of the product, and also completed calculations and a feasibility study. NIKIET in August won a tender to develop a technical project for the Shelf-M microreactor by the end of 2025.
Electrical equipment installed at Rooppur NPP unit 1
23 December, 2022
Specialists from Russia’s Corporation AK (part of ESKM) have begun the final stage of installation of electrical instrumentation and control equipment at unit 1 of the Rooppur NPP, under construction in Bangladesh. Since installation work started in August, the company has installed the reactor compartment monitoring and control system and the system for control and management of special water treatment. In September 2022, installation began of the technological parameters control security system equipment with the work scheduled to be completed at the end of January 2023.
Bruce Power 4 returns to service
23 December, 2022
Unit 4 at Canada’s Bruce Power NPP has returned to service following a successful 98-day planned maintenance outage, which represented a $130 million investment in the life extension of the unit. Work carried out during the outage included fuel channel inspections to ensure the unit will operate safely until its planned Major Component Replacement (MCR) outage begins in 2025. Unit 4 will undergo another planned inspection outage in May 2023.
SKB receives environmental permit for final repository extension
23 December, 2022
Sweden’s nuclear fuel management company, SKB, has received an environmental permit for extension of the final repository for short-lived radioactive waste, SFR, in Forsmark.
Nuvia to support decommissioning of Sweden’s Ringhals 2
23 December, 2022
UK-based Nuvia said its subsidiary, Nuvia Nordic, had been selected by Vattenfall to contribute to dismantling unit 2 of the Ringhals NPP in Sweden, where it has been involved in most of the nuclear dismantling projects in the country.
Russia begins welding base plate of Brest reactor
23 December, 2022
Welding has begun of the baseplate of the Brest-OD-300 reactor, under construction as part of the pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK), at the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC, part of Rosatom’s Fuel Company TVEL). This signals the start of pre-assembly of the base plate. Two parts of the steel plate, with a total weight of 158 tons, have been placed on a slipway and general contractor JSC Titan-2 is now welding the two parts together.
Romanian government approves draft law for Cernavoda expansion
22 December, 2022
A draft law on the agreement to build two new reactors at Romania’s Cernavoda NPP was adopted by the government on 19 December and will now be submitted to parliament for approval of the agreement signed earlier between the state and Cernavoda operator Nuclearelectrica. “It is a very important law, which I hope will be adopted as soon as possible by my colleagues in the Parliament, in order to move forward with the project of the new units at Cernavodă,” Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said in a news release.
Nuclear fuel developed for Russia’s new floating NPPs
22 December, 2022
Rosatom has completed development of nuclear fuel for the RITM-200S reactor facility designed for the Modernised Floating Power Units (MPEP) project. These installations will supply power to the Baimsky Mining and Processing Plant in Chukotka.
Work begins on Leningrad-II NPP units 7&8
22 December, 2022
First concrete has been poured for the foundation of the combined pumping station for fire-fighting water supply and automatic fire extinguishing at the site of Russia’s Leningrad-II NPP (LNPP-II) units 7&8. “This is the first building of the entire complex of buildings for this new stage. The pumping station will ensure fire safety during the construction and will pave the way to pouring concrete for the nuclear island of unit 7 in 2024,” said Evgeny Milushkin, Deputy Director for Capital Construction at LNPP-II.
Indonesia remains a focus for Thorcon’s molten salt technology
22 December, 2022
Inspection and certification company Bureau Veritas (BV) recently signed an agreement with nuclear power technology developer ThorCon for the Technology Qualification and subsequent development of a 500MW molten salt nuclear power barge intended for operations in Indonesia. Thorcon has been promoting its technology to key Indonesian institutions since 2015, the year that, Indonesia decided to cancel its $8bn plans to construct four nuclear plants with a total capacity of 6GWe by 2025.
CGN postpones start-up of unit 3 at its Fangchenggang NPP
22 December, 2022
China General Nuclear (CGN) has said that unit 3 at its Fangchenggang NPP in Guangxi Autonomous Region will begin operation in first half of 2023, postponed from the second half of 2022. Fangchenggang 3 is the first of two demonstration Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors under construction at the site. In an announcement published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website, CGN Power said: "The company has recently made an overall evaluation of the construction of the Fangchenggang unit 3 in order to realise the high-quality operation of the first reactor of the demonstration projects of HPR1000 technology of the company and to ensure the long-term safe and stable operation of the unit when put into operation."
Japanese district court rejects injunction to close Mihama 3
22 December, 2022
Japan’s Osaka District Court has rejected an injunction against continued operation of unit 3 at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Mihama NPP in Fukui Prefecture. The 46-year-old 826MWe Mihama 3 was restarted in June 2021 for the first time in some 10 years, after completing final inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. It is the first and only unit to operate beyond the government-mandated 40-year service period introduced under post Fukushima rules.
Japan’s NRA approves reactor operation beyond 60 years
22 December, 2022
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has approved new regulations that will allow reactors to operate longer than the previous limit of 60 years. The government aims to introduce implementing legislation during next year’s parliamentary session and is expected to cause heated debate between supporters and opponents of the move. NRA currently only allows utilities wishing to operate a reactor beyond 40 years to apply for a one-time 20-year extension provided that they satisfy enhanced safety measures.
Belarus considers additional nuclear power units
22 December, 2022
Belarus is discussing the possibility of building a third power unit at the Belarusian NPP (BelNPP), or a new nuclear plant at a separate site, Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich has said. "Substantiating materials were prepared and comprehensively reviewed by state administration bodies and the National Academy of Sciences. The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economy took part in these reviews," he noted.
SMR competition heats up in the UK
22 December, 2022
Five major companies have made key announcements on their plans to advance small modular reactor (SMR) deployment in the UK. While Rolls-Royce SMR shortlisted three sites for a factory to produce component for its planned SMR; Balfour Beatty and Holtec with Hyundai agreed to support plans for the construction of Holtec’s SMR-160; and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) submitted a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) application for its BWRX-300 SMR to the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Ukrainian legislation brings nuclear power in line with EU regulations
21 December, 2022
Three laws intended to bring Ukraine's legislation on the use of nuclear power in line with relevant European Union laws have entered into force after the bills were signed into law by President Vladimir Zelensky and published in the Verkhovna Rada's (parliament’s) official journal.
South Korea eyes NPP construction in Turkey
21 December, 2022
The Korean Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) is negotiating with the Turkish government on a possible contract for the construction of four nuclear reactors in Turkey worth KRW40,000 billion ($30.7bn), Korean media has reported, citing a representative of the South Korean company. A Kepco spokesperson said a feasibility study was expected to begin next year, paving the way for an agreement to build a NPP comprising four 1,400MWe units in the northern part of the country. The exact site was not identified.
USNC explores possible deployment of its MMR in Finland
21 December, 2022
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (UNSC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Finland to investigate deployment of its Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) as a research and test reactor for the city of Lappeenranta, in the vicinity of the University campus.
Hungary extends service life of Paks NPP reactors
21 December, 2022
The Hungarian government has announced the extension of the operating life of four power units at the Paks NPP, which comprises four Soviet-supplied VVER-440 units. The Cabinet of Ministers noted the growing role of nuclear energy in the context of the energy crisis in Europe caused by the conflict in Ukraine and EU sanctions against Russia. “We have once again extended the life of the existing power units of the Paks nuclear power plant,” the Hungarian government said on its Facebook page. "Energy prices during the war and problems with the energy supply of Europe have also affected Hungary," it noted.
Energy Fuels and Peninsula Energy contracted to supply US Uranium Reserve
21 December, 2022
US uranium producer Energy Fuels, and Strata Energy - a subsidiary of Australia-based Peninsula Energy - have been awarded contracts to sell natural uranium concentrates (U3O8) to the US government for the establishment of a strategic uranium reserve. Energy Fuels is contracted for $18.5 million U3O8 and Strata for $57 million.
