Watts Bar Nuclear Plant shows it can perform under pressure

TimesFreePress - by Dave Flessner

Four decades after workers began construction of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, TVA successfully passed a critical test this week toward finally completing a second reactor at the Spring City, Tenn., power plant.

TVA workers and contractors on Tuesday successfully completed a cold hydro-static pressure test to ensure that key reactor equipment and systems did not leak or fail under pressure in the Unit 2 reactor under construction at Watts Bar.

"This is a significant milestone and success for Watts Bar yesterday to ensure that the workmanship used to construct the reactor coolant system and other associated systems were constructed in the right manner," said Ray Hruby, general manager for Watts Bar Unit 2 construction services.

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Panel says U.S. should rethink nuclear emergency plans

By Associated Press and Herald staff

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. should customize emergency plans for each of the nation's 65 nuclear power plant sites, a change that in some cases could expand the standard 10-mile evacuation zone in place for more than three decades, an expert panel is recommending.

That's one of the lessons to emerge in a 40-page report released Thursday -- three days before the anniversary of Japan's nuclear disaster -- from a committee that examined the incident for the American Nuclear Society. The panel includes a former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a fellow at an Energy Department laboratory and seven other nuclear scientists.

The report concludes that U.S. nuclear power oversight is adequate to protect public health and safety, but emergency zones "should not be based on arbitrary mileage designations."

Under rules in force since 1978, communities near nuclear plants must prepare federally reviewed evacuation plans only for those living within 10 miles of the facility. That's because in a severe accident, most of the early deaths -- those from radiation sickness, not cancer -- are predicted to occur within the first 10 miles.

About 4,050 people live within 10 miles of the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant north of Richland.

While that zone can be adjusted during an accident, the panel said emergency plans should account for how each nuclear power plant would react in a disaster before it happens. And if evacuation needs to occur, wind patterns and population also should be considered, the panel said.

"It's a matter of planning," said Michael Corradini, director of the University of Wisconsin's Institute of Nuclear Systems and the panel's co-chair. "For certain types of events and certain severities, they may change how they evacuate, or who would evacuate."

An AP investigation in June found that populations around the nation's nuclear power plants have swelled since the facilities were first built but little has been done to account for the risks associated with evacuating so many more people.

The NRC approved a rule in August requiring nuclear plants to update estimates of how long it would take to evacuate nearby communities in an emergency. Plant operators now will have to update evacuation estimates after every 10-year census or when changes in population would increase the estimated time by at least 30 minutes.

The last time Energy Northwest re-evaluated its emergency plan was in 2005, because population within 10 miles had increased by more than 10 percent, but officials determined no changes were needed then.

The commission has not addressed the evacuation distance issue.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko has said the 10-mile rule merely is a "planning standard" that could be modified in the "unlikely event" of an accident, based on the circumstances.

"So if we needed to take action beyond 10 miles, that's certainly what we would recommend," Jaczko said last year after touring the Indian Point nuclear complex, about 25 miles from New York City.

The report also found the NRC's recommendation that Americans living within 50 miles of Japan's Fukushima plant leave the area "puzzling."

"I still don't know what the assumptions were that led to that, what kind of calculations were done," said Dale Klein, who headed the NRC from July 2006 to May 2009 and co-chaired the panel. "We just don't understand what the technical basis for that recommendation was."

The 50-mile zone was greater than Japanese officials recommended for their own citizens after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima facility. The expert committee determined the mandatory evacuation ordered by the Japanese government for all citizens to evacuate within 12 miles of the site -- and a voluntary evacuation for those within 18 miles -- was adequate.

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Green light for nuclear plant preparation

Mar 8, 2012

Abu Dhabi's nuclear energy company has been granted permission to prepare the groundwork for the Arab world's first nuclear reactors as it races to meet a 2017 deadline.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the independent nuclear watchdog, granted Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) permission on Tuesday to carry out civil works at the site for the first two of four planned reactors.

The total cost of all the reactors is put at US$20 billion (Dh73.46bn). The first reactor is scheduled to come online in 2017 and would make the UAE the first Arab nation to produce nuclear energy.

"It allows us to maintain our momentum," said Fahad Al Qahtani, a spokesman at Enec.

"It allows us to do some of the necessary work we need to do in order to stick to our schedule, and the next milestone we are hoping for is the approval of the construction licence application."

The groundwork includes levelling the ground and laying down the piping and electrical conduits needed before the first concrete is poured at the proposed site at Braka in Al Gharbia 300km west of the capital.

Enec is awaiting the regulator's decision on a 9,000-page construction licence for the first two reactors, which it submitted in December 2010 and hopes to get a green light on by July.

A team of 60 people in the US, France and the UAE are reviewing the application. In 2009 Abu Dhabi awarded the $20bn contract for the reactors to a South Korean consortium.

This week, Hong Suk-woo, the Korean minister of knowledge economy, said the nation would like to build four more reactors in Abu Dhabi and that there was enough room at the Braka site to build them.

Enec said no decision had been made on additional reactors.

"We are now focusing on the four nuclear power plants," said Mr Qahtani.

"We are focusing on our projects, and in the future we will assess the electricity supply and demand if we want to develop more nuclear power plants."

Iowa: Lawmaker says deal struck on nuclear power bill

March 6, 2012 4:10 PM

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DES MOINES, Iowa — A legislator said Tuesday that he had struck a deal on a plan that would give MidAmerican Energy new incentives to build a nuclear power plant in Iowa.

Sen. Matt McCoy, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his panel will approve the compromise Thursday.

"We have the votes," McCoy, D-Des Moines, told The Associated Press. "We have a consumer-friendly amendment."

The compromise would require that MidAmerican, Iowa's largest utility, have financing in place before beginning construction of a nuclear power plant. Once state regulators approve a new plant, the utility would have to carry out construction.

Some legislators had worried earlier versions of the measure would allow the utility to raise rates to pay for the plant, without being committed to actually building the facility. They said consumers could end up with higher rates, and no new power plant to show for it.

Lawmakers reached the agreement even as opponents held a Statehouse news conference, where they argued that nuclear plants are inherently dangerous.

Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, was among the speakers at the event, timed to mark the upcoming anniversary of the March 11 meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. The accident occurred after a massive earthquake caused a tsunami that knocked out power to the plant.

Hogg said he didn't share McCoy's confidence that the Iowa measure would be debated on the Senate floor.

"I would be surprised if it moved, but it's obviously still a live round," Hogg said.

Francis Thicke, a farmer and environmental activist from Fairfield, said the compromise backed by McCoy only dealt with the potential financial risks of the proposed nuclear plant.

"My concern is the whole environmental issue and they are not addressing the environment," Thicke said.

The incentives for developing another nuclear power plant cleared the House last year, but the proposal has been stalled in the Senate and backers had feared it wouldn't be approved as the Legislature moved toward adjournment next month.

MidAmerican spokeswoman Ann Thelen was cautious about the agreement, saying the deal was just struck Tuesday and officials have not had a chance to review it.

As head of the Commerce Committee, McCoy controls which issues are debated, and he's scheduled his panel to take up the nuclear plant bill Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said no decision had been made about the measure if it wins committee approval.

"It's available for the rest of the session," Gronstal said. "We may or may not debate it."

LINK

DOE Locks in Three New Public-Private Partnerships for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

The project aims to support private sector testing, development and licensing of SMR technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that it will begin developing small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technologies along with its Savannah River Site (SRS) through three new public-private partnerships.

The three new partnerships are part of the Energy Department's efforts to cement nuclear power as an energy solution in the U.S. Over the past three years alone, the Energy Department has invested $170 million in research grants regarding advanced reactor concepts and safety. The Energy Department just recently made a $10 million investment in new research that seeks to solve common problems in the nuclear power industry.

GCC aides meet today to weigh nuclear energy options

Today, senior officials and nuclear experts of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will hold a meeting in Riyadh to study a project on the use of nuclear energy and to review a plan to boost cooperation between member states and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The meeting has been convened by a GCC working panel, which has been entrusted with the task to prepare detailed studies for the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in member countries.

"The meeting will discuss a number of topics related to uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including among others an action plan for addressing nuclear emergencies," Ahmed Al-Kabi, a spokesman for the GCC General Secretariat, said yesterday.

He pointed out that the meeting will also discuss several other topics related to nuclear energy, how to promote alternative sources of energy and energy saving methods besides other initiatives taken by member states in this field.

He said the meeting is significant keeping in view the keen desire of the Gulf states to pursue renewable energy and nuclear power projects with an aim to cut dependence on oil. "Then, there is a need to review our own preparedness to deal with nuclear emergencies," said Al-Kabi, while referring to the growing threat from Iran and Israel.

He said the GCC working panel will also discuss a proposal to hold training sessions and workshops to be organized and attended by officials and experts from the GCC as well as from other nations.

"In fact, more than 60 percent of all oil production in the GCC will go toward producing electricity by the year 2030, if current demand levels continue to grow at the same pace," said a report released by the GCC yesterday. Referring to the GCC panel’s meeting, which will eventually map out a plan to promote GCC nuclear energy projects, the statement said there would also be discussions on a paper submitted by the GCC on nuclear energy.

A plan to invite experts in various disciplines to present latest advances in the usage of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes will also be discussed in the meeting, said the statement. It said the meeting would also discuss in detail the scope and extent of the GCC’s cooperation with the IAEA. “We are looking ahead to contributing to the discussions ahead and sharing and hearing best practices from across the GCC,” said the statement released before the meeting.

According to the statement, a pilot study project on the use of nuclear energy, a plan to boost cooperation between the GCC and the IAEA, and how to promote alternative sources of energy and energy saving methods will top the agenda. On an individual level, some of the Gulf states including the Kingdom have signed several agreements with nuclear nations and international agencies to enable them to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

LINK

Nuclear plant shutdowns taking heavy toll on local economy

TOKYO --Unit 3 of the Takahama nuclear power station (NPS) operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. was shut down on February 20 to undergo a periodic inspection. In Japan, operators of nuclear reactors are obligated in principle to start a periodic inspection of their respective reactors within 13 months of the completion of the preceding periodic inspection. Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, many reactors have not been able to restart even after completion of their periodic inspections. With the recent shutdown of Takahama unit 3, 52 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are now offline. The impact is spreading beyond power supply and demand, and now affecting various areas including local economy and employment.

In Fukui Prefecture, where the Takahama NPS is located, all of the prefecture's 13 nuclear reactors are currently suspended with no clear prospects for resumption. The construction and wholesale industries in the region are becoming increasingly apprehensive of the ongoing situation, as their operations rely on businesses associated with nuclear plants such as construction work and material supply. There is also concern that the prolonged shutdown of the nuclear plants may accelerate the drain of human resources having expertise in reactor maintenance.

Yutaka Nose, mayor of Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture, made a plea citing the difficulties faced by the local industries during his speech in January this year by saying, "For construction companies with a size of only 10 employees or so, staying in business for as few as six months will not be viable without receiving construction contracts related to periodical inspections." He added, "With no prospect in sight for the reactors to be restarted, companies are facing a situation where they cannot secure bridge loans from financial institutions."

Turkey mulls cooperation with China in nuclear energy

Location: Mersin, Turkey

Turkey's first nuclear power plant in the country's southern province of Mersin will be build by Russia under an agreement signed in May 2010 and the construction is planned to begin in 2013.

Turkey has expressed willingness to do nuclear business with China in Ankara's declared drive to build three nuclear power plants in the next decade as talks with South Korea and Japan were underway with an already-wrapped-up deal with Russia for Turkey's first ever nuke plant.

"A process of dialogue will begin between the Turkish Energy Ministry and our Chinese counterparts," Ali Babacan, Turkish deputy premier, told reporters Wednesday after a business forum meeting between China and Turkey in Istanbul.

Turkey's first nuclear power plant in the country's southern province of Mersin will be build by Russia under an agreement signed in May 2010 and the construction is planned to begin in 2013.

"For the first plant we have agreed with Russia. And for the second one, we are negotiating with Japan and South Korea. But there is a third nuclear plant project we aim to do. And it depends on the course the talks will take whether the second or the third plant would be commissioned to the Chinese," Babacan said.

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South Africa Considers Building Nuclear, Coal-Fired Power Plants

Location: South Africa

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa is considering spending more than 600 billion rand ($78 billion) on new nuclear plants, another coal-fired plant and a hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to stave off power shortages in Africa’s largest economy.

In the 2012 budget released today, the National Treasury allocated 844.5 billion rand toward new energy, transport, housing, telecommunications and water projects in the three years through March 2015. The budget lists 43 infrastructure programs worth a total of 3.2 trillion rand that are in progress or under consideration for implementation by 2020.

“No good project will be short of funding,” Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told lawmakers in his budget speech in Cape Town. “South Africa has deep and liquid capital markets through which long-term capital can be raised at competitive rates.”

President Jacob Zuma announced plans for a “massive” infrastructure drive in his Feb. 9 state-of-the-nation speech to help spur invest and support growth in Africa’s biggest economy.

Proposals to spend 300 billion rand on nuclear plants with the capacity to generate 9,600 megawatts of energy by 2029 are in the “final stages of consideration,” the Treasury said. The government may also build a new 111 billion rand new coal-fired plant, in addition to the Medupi and Kusile plants under construction.

Grand Inga

An investment of 200 billion rand in Congo’s 40,000 megawatt Grand Inga hydropower project is at the “assessment stage,” while a study into a 200 billion-rand solar park is due for completion this year.

Transport projects being considered include a 37 billion- rand upgrade of Transnet SOC Ltd.’s rail line transporting coal from the eastern Mpumalanga province to the port of Richards Bay. A 300 billion-rand high-speed rail line between Johannesburg and the eastern port of Durban is still at a conceptual stage, the Treasury said.

The government is also considering a proposal for state petroleum company, PetroSA, to build a 200 billion-rand, 360,000 barrel-per-day refinery at the eastern port of Coega.

Public-sector borrowing will start “rapidly rising” after 2015 as infrastructure investment accelerates, Gordhan said.

The government has been struggling to implement capital projects, spending just 68 percent of the 260 billion rand allocated in the year through March 2011, Gordhan said.

Selling State Assets

“In addition to long delays, we have often experienced significant cost overruns,” he said. “We shall step up the quality of planning, costing and project management so that infrastructure is delivered on time and on budget.”

The government is reviewing its investment in a number of state-owned companies and may sell non-priority assets, the Treasury said.

New regulators may also be established to oversee the water and transport industries, to ensure the services they provide are correctly priced, while the Department of Energy is reviewing of its power-pricing policy, it said.

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Pacific Gas and Electric Co. hires chief nuclear officer to oversee Diablo Canyon

Ed Halpin, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s new chief nuclear officer.

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/02/21/1957891/pge-ed-halpin-chief-nuclear-officer.html#storylink=cpy

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will announce Wednesday that it has hired Ed Halpin as the utility’s chief nuclear officer.

He will oversee the operation of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and head the utility’s efforts to renew the plant’s two operating licenses. He comes from the South Texas Project, a two-reactor nuclear power plant in Bay City, Texas, where he serves as president, chief executive officer and chief nuclear officer.

Halpin is expected to start his new job in early April. He replaces John Conway, who will stay with PG&E as Halpin’s boss.

The hiring of Halpin, who will focus solely on Diablo Canyon, is one of the changes initiated by PG&E’s new president, Anthony Earley. In addition to being chief nuclear officer, Conway also has served as the head of the utility’s energy procurement, meaning his time has been split between Diablo Canyon and PG&E’s headquarters in San Francisco.

“Ed Halpin is a veteran nuclear industry operator with a proven track record of success,” Conway said.

The hiring of a full-time chief nuclear officer is in line with a trend in the industry as workloads get heavier, said Blair Jones, PG&E spokesman.

“Policy changes, new regulatory requirements, industry travel commitments, and most recently the Fukushima incident have created increased demands on all nuclear organizations,” Jones said.

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/02/21/1957891/pge-ed-halpin-chief-nuclear-officer.html#storylink=cpy

20 yrs nuclear plant exposure = 1 X-ray shot

The radiation exposure for those residing around a nuclear plant for 20 years is equal to a dose of radiation from a single x-ray!

This needs to be stated because of the negative publicity attached to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).

The plant has been designed by experts complying with international standards. Hence the concern that those staying near the plant are prone to cancer is baseless.

What about the health of hundreds of employees working at various nuclear plants?

The ongoing stir is delaying the commissioning of the Rs 13,000-crore project earlier slotted for the end of 2011 indefinitely.

The KKNPP, built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India withRussian collaboration, has two reactor units, each of 1,000 MWe.

The design of the plant is in keeping with the ‘third-plus’ generation of nuclear plants – the safest available.

After visiting Koodankulam, former President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said, “All the four important aspects of safety –structural integrity, thermal hydraulic, radiation and neutronic safety – have been incorporated in keeping with the highest standards.”

Comparing VVER technology used in the Koodankulam reactor (which is a generation 3+ nuclear reactor) with the 40-year-old technology of the Chernobyl plant (a first generation nuclear plant) is absurd. Technology has improved by leaps and bounds since the Chernobyl accident and has been put into practise globally.

Contrary to false propaganda, water expelled by a nuclear plant creates an ambience ideal for fish-breeding due to the increase in temperature by a few degrees Celsius.

There is no danger to the plant in the event of a tsunami as wave height in this region would not exceed 5.44 m, and the reactor, turbine and generators are located above 8.1 m.

Solar and wind energy limitations call for an increased dependence on nuclear technology for the production of green power.

Electric energy will act as a catalyst in the development of small and big industries and agriculture. Isn’t it high time the state and centre intervened and ended this agitation?

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Nuclear power reactor design selected by industry group

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant Industry Alliance Limited on Feb. 14 said it has selected the Areva Generation IV reactor concept as the optimum design for next generation nuclear plants. The Areva design is a 625 MW thermal, high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) and would provide a source of nuclear energy with inherent safety features and zero greenhouse gas emissions.

“Commercialization of next-generation nuclear technology is a critical component of securing clean sources of energy for the future,” said Fred Moore, Executive Director of NGNP Industry Alliance. “HTGR is the game changing technology for clean, safe nuclear energy production.”

The Alliance said HTGR technology provides improved safety and security through its inherent design, by ensuring no internal or external event could lead to a release of radioactive material, as proven by experimental and demonstration reactors around the world.

The Areva HTGR technology’s capability and modular design would support a broad range of market sectors, providing highly-efficient energy to industries such as electrical power generation, petrochemicals, non-conventional oil recovery and synthetic fuel production.

“We are very pleased that the Alliance has selected the Areva prismatic core, modular HTGR for the co-generation of process heat and electricity,” said Mike Rencheck, chief operating officer, Areva Inc. “The industrial end-user requirements have been the primary consideration for making this advanced technology selection over other small modular reactors. The co-generation aspects offer long term, predictable energy supply.”

The NGNP Industry Alliance Limited represents the interests and views of the member companies who have taken a leadership role to mutually support and direct project plans to design, build, operate and use the HTGR technology. The Alliance provides a forum and focus to communicate industry needs and requirements and works in concert with the Idaho National Laboratory and others to seek out and promote industrial uses for HTGR technologies within the United States, North America and other continents around the world.

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Red River Valley boasts ‘best of many worlds’ for nuclear power

Republican U.S. Senate candidate discusses proposal to build nuclear plant in D.C.

Sand held press conferences in Grand Forks and Fargo and a public input meeting in Hillsboro on Wednesday to further discuss his “Seven-Point American Energy Policy” that includes the top goal of building 20 new nuclear power plants over the next 20 years.

The Red River Valley in eastern North Dakota has “the best of many worlds” that make it ideally suited for a nuclear power plant, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Duane Sand said Wednesday.

Sand held press conferences in Grand Forks and Fargo and a public input meeting in Hillsboro on Wednesday to further discuss his “Seven-Point American Energy Policy” that includes the top goal of building 20 new nuclear power plants over the next 20 years.

He said it will take at least that many to replace the two dozen plants that will have to be decommissioned in the next two decades because they will reach their maximum 60-year lifespan.

And with a growing economy and population, he said the nation will need more nuclear plants that can offer one of the “safest, cleanest and greenest” forms of power to keep up with the growing demand for energy.

“One of our biggest issues for the future is to create and meet the new electrical energy demands that our country will require in the 21st century for a growing economy,” he said. “And it will create those jobs right here in North Dakota, where we can send that power to Minnesota a short distance to the grid that can power a large part of the United States from there.”

Why here?

Sand, a former Navy nuclear submarine officer and inspector with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the Red River Valley is one of the most seismically stable areas of North America.

It also has major air and ground transportation arteries and is close to the Eastern Interconnection, one of the continent’s two major power grids that could move the energy to Minnesota and on to Chicago and northeastern U.S. metro areas that need it.

“I’ve spent two years working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspecting most of the nuclear power plants in the Midwest, and I can tell you that we have the best of many worlds when it comes to the most opportune ways of providing power safely and reliably with minimal, if any, impact to the environment,” he said.

Sand said he favors building a plant on the North Dakota side of the Red River Valley because the project would bring a $10 to $14 billion private investment to the state that would create 3,000 permanent jobs and 4,500 construction jobs while adding millions of dollars of new wages and tax revenues to the local economy.

Northwestern Minnesota offers many of the same perks for a nuclear plant, but has a moratorium on new nuclear construction, he said.

Questions

Sand, who is competing with Republican Rep. Rick Berg for the GOP endorsement of the U.S. Senate, first discussed his energy proposal in December.

He said his plan to push for a nuclear power plant in the Red River Valley already has earned the interest of major companies, and he plans to hold a symposium of businesses and local officials from communities with nuclear plants in May to further discuss the issue.

The project would require a large financial investment, but Sand said U.S. companies that operate nuclear power plants are holding onto billions of dollars right now over the “uncertain future” of nuclear energy that he said was created by the Obama administration.

A more pro-energy president who can restore that certainty could help these companies make a “big investment” again, he said.

But Sand said there are good and bad aspects that come with any plan, and he now is working to answer the questions about safety and logistics that he expects North Dakotans will have before they could back his proposal.

“What I want to do as a United States Senator is bring the people to the table that are necessary to help make this happen in North Dakota, if indeed the people of North Dakota are supportive and it makes sense to do,” he said. “And I think it does.”

Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant should start working now, says Russia

San Diego Union Tribune

CHENNAI: Upset over the prolonged delay in the commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Russia today said it should "start working now" and there should be a "movement" to start the "safest" plant and not to "kill" it.

"The machines have to start working now. Because after several weeks you will have to spend much more time and money to maintain them. You will pay for nothing. They will be idle but you have to pay for their maintenance," Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said in an interview to PTI.

Describing the anti-KNPP protests as India's "internal matter", he hoped the government would be able to sort it out soon.

"We are in close touch with the central government. We are not pressing and we cannot press (for early implementation). It is your internal problem.I hope the central and state governments and other agencies sort it out," he said.

The envoy also cautioned that the Russian scientists working at the site could not "sit idle" for several months in view of the protests by the locals citing safety concerns.

"They cannot wait indefinitely, cannot sit idle without end because they are doing nothing. And we have so much work going around for nuclear stations (that) one day we can just take them and they are needed," he said.

Vouching for the safety of the plant, he said it is the "safest in the world" and for "all practical purposes, there should be a movement to launch it, not to stop it and kill it."

The Indo-Russian power project in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district has run into rough weather following stiff resistance from locals who have been protesting since September under People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy banner, citing safety concerns following the Fukushima disaster last year.

Asked about an outsider hand in the protests that have been dragging for over six months now, the Ambassador said it is for "your government to decide."

"There is an investigation (into it and the source of money for the protests). There were suspicions that they get money from somewhere else. To organise such a movement, put up tents and shamiana, one needs money for such a long time," he said.

he envoy's observations comes close on the heels of Home Minister P Chidambaram's recent remarks at Tirunelveli that those acting against the nation's welfare and development with funding of foreign agencies would have to face stern action.

Taking a dig at the protests, Kadakin referred to the Kalpakkam nuclear power station located near Chennai and said: "but they (protestors) are not allowing the safest station in the world to function."

"This is not just, this is not correct," he said. Acknowledging that people were afraid of calamities, Kadakin said there was a need to clear this 'confusion.'

"We have to of course clear up this confusion because people are confused.Of course it is natural that people are afraid of calamities; everybody is afraid. But there is also this fact that this is the safest nuclear station in the world and nobody can deny it.So why should be people be afraid of this safest station when there are so many functioning in the world," he said.

However, he expressed optimism over the future of the project and referred to various initiatives taken by the Central and the state governments, including the Jayalalithaa government appointing an expert group to address the locals' fears over the project.

"We are not that pessimistic. We are optimistic," he added.

LINK

Refueling begins at nuclear plant

02/13/2012, 10:22 pm

he number of workers at the Exelon nuclear plant in La Salle County is swelling to accommodate a refueling outage.

Each of the facility's two nuclear reactors are refueled every other year on a staggered schedule. A refueling of one of the reactors began Monday. For the process, the reactor must be shut down, which also allows for safety inspections, equipment enhancements and other maintenance and upgrades that cannot be done while the reactor is running.

One job to be done is testing of the plant's hydraulic snubbers — shock absorber-like devices that are to protect equipment from earthquakes and other natural events.

Two transformers also will be installed. The transformers were shipped to the plant by barge and truck in August, causing roads near the plant to be temporarily closed.

About 2,000 temporary skilled workers from local union halls and 350 technical experts from other Exelon nuclear stations will be working at the La Salle County plant during the refueling, according to Exelon. The refueling is to take about six weeks

Nuclear power unit removed from service for maintenance

Feb 13, 2012

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) said plant operators on Feb. 13 safely took Unit 1 of the 1,848 MW Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant offline for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage. The last refueling outage for the 924 MW Unit 1 was completed in spring 2010.

Each unit at Plant Hatch requires refueling every 24 months. Aside from refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing, workers also will replace the Main Turbine Low Pressure Rotor.

Plant Hatch Unit 2 will continue to generate electricity while Unit 1 is offline and refueling.

Unit 1 began commercial operation in December 1975 while Unit 2 began commercial operation in September 1979.

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Abu Dhabi Nuclear plant work in progress with 2017 target

Feb 13, 2012

In Abu Dhabi's remote coastal outpost of Baraka, 4,000 people are at work on the infrastructure needed to bring nuclear power to the Arab world for the first time.

The emirate hopes to produce up to a quarter of its electricity with the US$20 billion (Dh73.46bn) plant, with the first of four Korean-designed reactors scheduled to go live within six years.

"The client wants electrons in 2017," said Lee McIntire, the chairman and chief executive of CH2M Hill, the Colorado company helping to manage the programme. "That's the goal and it still appears to be very much on track."

From Denver in Colorado to Seoul, work is progressing.

Meanwhile, the board of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec), the government-owned company that will operate the plant alongside Korea Electric Power Company, travelled to South Korea this month for an update on the construction of reactors there.

On the regulatory side, a team spanning the US, France and the UAE is reviewing Enec's 9,000-page construction application. The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE's independent regulator, expects to issue its decision on the plans by mid-year.

Scholarships sponsored by Enec and FANR are recruiting high-achieving students to study science and nuclear engineering.

LINK

Delayed TVA nuclear plant gets new leaders

By Roger Harris

Posted February 9, 2012 at 4:27 p.m., updated February 9, 2012 at 6:48 p.m.

With construction of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 more than a year behind schedule and significantly over budget, TVA announced Thursday new leadership for the reactor project.

Coming out of retirement to head engineering and construction for Unit 2 is retired TVA executive Ike Zeringue.

The former president, chief operating officer and chief nuclear officer at TVA retired in 2005. Zeringue was the TVA executive who led the completion of Watts Bar Unit 1 in 1993.

TVA recently said Unit 2 will cost significantly more than the $2.5 billion originally budgeted and won't be completed until 2013, a year later than expected.

Installation of equipment is taking longer than originally planned, the agency said. The plant also has been hampered by safety incidents, including one in January that halted work by 1,000 employees and contract workers for three days when it was discovered that cables had been mistakenly removed from Unit 1 instead of being taken from Unit 2.

TVA launched a review of Unit 2 construction in August and expects to recommend a plan for finishing the project, including a new cost estimate, in the second quarter, said Mike Skaggs, TVA's senior vice president for nuclear generation, development and construction.

In addition to bringing Zeringue out of retirement, TVA is reassigning some existing nuclear executives.

Dave Stinson, previously vice president of construction at Watts Bar Unit 2, now is in charge of engineering, design and infrastructure planning at Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Unit 1 .

Ray Hruby, will move from Bellefonte to Watts Bar Unit 2 to manage overall project work, licensing, and safety.

The utility also said that when Bill McCollum, chief operating officer and president, retires in June, that position will not be filled.

In addition, the agency has eliminated a senior vice president position in its fossil power generation group. Robert Fisher, the executive who previously held that job, already has left TVA.

Other personnel changes are possible, according to the public utility. The management shuffle is intended to "align our strengths with our priorities" and "flatten the organization," Skaggs said in a telephone news conference with reporters.

The heads of TVA's nuclear and fossil divisions now will report directly to CEO Tom Kilgore.

The management shuffle is part of a broader organizational realignment the agency says will save money and reduce pressure on rates paid by consumers.

"We are aligning our business into functional teams focused on energy generation and energy delivery. Nuclear generation and construction will be separate groups reporting directly to the CEO. There should be no doubt as to the importance of nuclear in our energy mix," Kilgore said in a statement.

The energy generation organization will include coal, natural gas, renewables and hydroelectric power. The energy delivery organization will focus on delivery of reliable power to customers and the agency's relationship with distributors.

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NRC approves first new nuclear plant in a generation

By Ayesha Rascoe

ROCKVILLE, Maryland | Thu Feb 9, 2012 1:26pm EST

(Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years in spite of objections of the panel's chairman who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's disastrous 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. The units will cost Southern and partners about $14 billion and enter service as soon as 2016 and 2017.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko cast an extraordinary dissenting vote, citing the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011 that spurred the NRC to review whether existing and new U.S. reactors could withstand natural disasters like earthquakes and floods.

"I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened." Jaczko said. "I believe it requires some type of binding commitment that the Fukushima enhancements that are currently projected and currently planned to be made would be made before the operation of the facility."

The Obama administration has offered Southern and its partners $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees as an incentive.

The new plant will use AP1000 reactors built by Westinghouse Electric, a standardized design approved by the NRC in December that will be the foundation for several other proposed nuclear plants. Westinghouse is majority owned by Japanese multinational Toshiba Corp.

SLOW NUCLEAR "RENAISSANCE"

There have been no nuclear power plants in the United States since the partial meltdown of the reactor core of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, which caused construction costs for nuclear plants to skyrocket and stopped dozens of planned plants in their tracks.

Southern's Vogtle project is the first in a queue of permits filed by U.S. utilities, like Scana Corp, that were once predicted to usher in a "renaissance" of nuclear power. Nuclear power accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. electric generation.

Interest in building new nuclear plants had risen about a decade ago when natural gas prices were soaring and experts thought the U.S. Congress would place first-ever limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

But the case for widespread U.S. nuclear plant construction has eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing and uncertainty following the Fukushima disaster.

New nuclear plants are "more questionable because there are economic factors right now which favor gas-fueled power plants and the fact that the economy is only growing slowly means that nationally the need for new generation is lower than people were expecting in 2007," said Michael Golay, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A 1,000-megawatt natural gas plant takes a few years to permit and build and costs up to $1 billion for the most efficient, combined-cycle model. A similar-sized nuclear reactor however could take five to 10 years to develop and build and cost in excess of $5 billion.

Industry experts say building interest is centered in Southeast states like Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Alabama and Florida, where land is plentiful and a population shift from northern states has boosted electricity demand.

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Nuclear plant shuts down temporarily

Feb 8, 2012 - 21:03

One of Switzerland’s oldest nuclear power stations has been shut down for several hours as a result of a reading error.

The operators of the Mühleberg plant outside the capital Bern said the incident occurred during a regular inspection.

No radioactivity was leaked according to BKW/FMB Energy.

The federal nuclear inspectorate said the incident posed no threat for the local residents. It gave the green light for the plant to resume production.

Emergency shut-downs at Switzerland’s five nuclear power plants are no rare occurrence.

Anti-nuclear protestors are calling for the Mühleberg plant to be taken off the grid over safety concerns.

Parliament last year decided to gradually decommission all power plants by 2034.