atw 2018-1

atw Vol. 63 (2018) | Issue 1 ı January
60
NEWS
World
France postpones plans to
reduce nuclear share after
warning of shortages
(nucnet) The French government has
postponed a target to reduce the share
of nuclear energy in the country’s
energy mix after grid operator RTE
warned it risked supply shortages after
2020 and could miss a goal to lower
carbon emissions. In 2015 the previous
government of Francois Hollande
established an energy transition law
which set a target of reducing the
share of nuclear in the energy mix to
50% by 2025 from the current 75%.
But environment minister Nicolas
Hulot said on 8 ­November 2017 this
would not be realistic. He said reducing
the nuclear share in a hurry
would increase France’s CO 2 emissions,
endanger the security of power
supply and put jobs at risk. Mr Hulot
said president Emmanuel Macron’s
government remains committed to
reducing nuclear energy and ordered
his ministry to produce a new timetable.
He later said in a television
interview that the government would
be working towards a 2030 to 2035
timeframe. RTE said in its 2017-2035
Electricity Outlook that if France went
ahead with plans to simultaneously
shut down four 40-year-old nuclear
­reactors and all its coal-fired plants,
there could be risks of power supply
shortages. State-controlled utility
EDF, which operates France’s 58
commercial nuclear power plants, has
argued instead to extend the operation
of its nuclear fleet from 40 to at least
50 years. France is the second largest
generator of nuclear electricity behind
the US. According to the International
Atomic Energy Agency, France’s
­nuclear fleet produced almost 28% of
the country’s electricity in 2016.
| | www.gouvernement.fr, 7763
Bill Gates’ TerraPower forms
new company with China to
develop twr technology
(nucnet) TerraPower, the company
founded in 2008 to develop advanced
nuclear technology and backed by
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has
signed a joint venture with China
­National Nuclear Corporation (­CNNC)
to form a company that will work to
complete the Travelling Wave Reactor
(TWR) design and commercialise TWR
technology. TerraPower said on its
website that the formation of the new
company, Global Innovation ­Nuclear
Energy Technology Company Ltd, was
made possible under policies and
agreements signed by the governments
of the US and China. Terra Power said
the collaboration with ­CNNC aims to
pioneer new options in civilian nuclear
energy that address safety, environmental
and cost concerns. Unlike traditional
nuclear reactors, TWR technology
will be capable of using fuel made
from depleted uranium, which is currently
a waste byproduct of the
uranium enrichment process. Its
unique design gradually converts the
fuel through a nuclear reaction without
removing it from the reactor’s core,
eliminating the need for reprocessing.
This means the reactor can generate
heat and produce electricity over a
much longer period of continuous
operation. Additionally, eliminating
reprocessing reduces proliferation
concerns, lowers the overall cost of the
nuclear energy process, and helps to
protect the environment by making use
of a waste by-product and reducing the
production of greenhouse gases. On
3 November 2017 in Beijing, Mr Gates
met the premier of China’s state council,
Li Keqiang, to discuss increased
cooperation between China and the
US in the development of the next
generation of reactor technologies.
| | terrapower.com, 8832
Barakah project brought $ 3.3 bn
of economic benefit to UAE
(nucnet) More than 1,400 local companies
have been contracted in the
development of the United Arab
­Emirates’ first nuclear power station
project at Barakah, Mohamed Al-
Hammadi, chief executive officer of
the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
(Enec), told an International
Atomic Energy Agency conference in
Abu Dhabi. Mr Al-Hammadi told the
International Ministerial Conference
on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century
that the construction of Barakah
brought over $3.3bn (€2.8bn) worth of
contracts to UAE-based companies,
| | Barakah project brought $ 3.3 bn of economic
benefit to UAE. View of the Barakah
construction site in September 2017.
(Courtesy: ENEC, 8877)
providing economic benefits to the
Gulf country. Enec signed a contract
with Korea Electric Power Corporation
in 2009 for building four APR-1400
units at the Barakah station. Construction
of the units began in 2012. Enec
said yesterday that Unit 1 at Barakah is
now more than 96% complete, Unit 2
more than 87%, Unit 3 more than 78%
and Unit 4 more than 58%. Overall,
construction of the four units is more
than 84% complete.
| | www.enec.gov.ae, 8877
Dominion to apply for second
life extension at North Anna
Nuclear Station – 80 operation
years advised
(nucnet) Dominion Energy Virginia has
notified the US Nuclear ­Regulatory
Commission that it intends to apply for
a second 20-year life extension for the
twin-reactor North Anna nuclear
power station in Virginia. The company
said it would file a licence renewal application
with the NRC in 2020, following
a similar application to extend the
operating lifetime of two reactors at
the Surry nuclear station, also in
Virginia, to 80 years. Dominion said it
expects to invest up to $4bn (€3.3bn)
in upgrades to the two North Anna
units and the two Surry units as
part of the relicensing process. The
Washington-­based Nuclear Energy
Institute said that of the 99 commercial
nuclear power reactors operating in
the US, 84 have had their original
40-year operating licences extended to
60 years. Three others that were issued
licence renewals have since shut down.
Another seven applications are under
NRC review, and the remaining four
are expected to apply between 2020
and 2022. By 2040, half of the nation’s
nuclear plants will have been operating
for 60 years. Under its second
licence renewal programme, the
industry is planning for a second round
of licence renewals to allow operation
out to 80 years.
| | www.dominion.com, 3882
Household energy prices
in the EU down compared
with 2016
(eurostat) In the European Union
(EU), household electricity prices
slightly decreased (-0.5%) on average
between the first half of 2016 and the
first half of 2017 to stand at €20.4 per
100 kWh. Across the EU Member
States, household electricity prices in
the first half of 2017 ranged from
­below €10 per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to
more than €30 per 100 kWh in
Denmark and Germany.
News