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SECTION TITLE GOES HERE Case study: PBMR Bringing It All Together PBMR takes advantage of data integration to speed construction of next-generation nuclear plants n By Pat Thomson In 1994, two events of global significance occurred in South Africa. The first was the successful completion of the country’s first democratic election. The second was the project development launch of the Pebble Bed Modular Nuclear Reactor (PBMR) by Eskom, one of the top 10 utilities in the world. The South Africa power utility giant had concluded that PBMR technology showed considerable technical and commercial merit for future energy demands in South Africa, as well as throughout the world. In 1999, Eskom joined with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), British Nuclear Fuels and the U.S. utility Exelon to create PBMR (Pty) Ltd. to build and market PBMR-based power plants. (Later, Exelon withdrew from PBMR to focus on its core business of power generation plant operations and power sales brokerage.) The new company completed a feasibility study which showed the PBMR technology was viable and that pebble bed modular reactors represented one of the most viable and cost-effective means for increasing South Africa’s power generation. Consistent power supply “The beauty of the PBMR technology is that it has intrinsically safe features. It cannot suffer a meltdown,” said Juan le Roex, power plant division software systems manager for PBMR. “The nuclear plant is easy to operate and you can regulate the power output. You couldn’t do that with the conventional reactors, which needed to run at 100 percent all the time. Also, the pebble bed design allows us to refuel the plant without shutting it down, which represents enormous cost savings. For example, Koeberg, the nuclear plant near Cape Town, has to be shut down for about 100 days each 18 months for refueling purposes.” It is already evident that South Africa has to add electricity generation capacity since the country’s peak demand is starting to exceed capacity, especially during peak hours. Today, almost 90 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power stations, with the Koeberg nuclear plant providing an additional five percent of the country’s needs. The remaining five percent is generated by hydroelectric and pumped storage means. PBMR’s feasibility study demonstrated that there are few, if any, new hydroelectric sites in South Africa that could be developed to deliver significant amounts of power, and the country’s natural gas resources are too limited to qualify as a viable power generation option. Moving forward, Eskom wants to reduce the country’s dependence on coal from 90 to 70 percent of supply. In 2005, South Africa declared the PBMR project a National Strategic Project, demonstrating the importance of the PBMR development to South Africa’s future. Unifying disciplines PBMR executives strongly believe the pebble bed technology will be of great benefit to countries around the world, so the company is working to design and build a demonstration plant at 10 Insight Insight: Special Focus
Koeberg to serve as a launch platform for local and international sales. At the same time, they are developing an associated fuel plant at Pelindaba near Pretoria. Once the technology is ready to be implemented, Eskom will be PBMR’s first customer. PBMR is on schedule to begin construction on the demonstration plant. “As our team of PBMR staff and contractors finalizes the design for the plant, we have what I call ‘islands’ of information,” said le Roex. “Intergraph’s SmartPlant Enterprise is providing us with a wellstructured integration to bring all the disciplines together. It unifies the design process and provides us with an interface for the procurement and construction processes, as well as helping us manage and control data on the construction site,” he said. Innovative design The reactor offers a sustainable energy source with an inherent capacity for safety. It can be either dry- or water-cooled, so it doesn’t have to be sited near water. This new design can be built in a much shorter timeframe than traditional nuclear plants and its modular design allows for a close match of demand and supply through expansion planning. The design follows U.S. rules, standards and regulations as far as they apply to this technology to facilitate a seamless application process for building PBMRs internationally. “We’re already pursuing the process of engaging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the American regulatory authority, to reach an agreement for the formal application of design certification,” said le Roex. “Once you’ve got American certification, it makes it much easier to gain certification in other countries, which will significantly expedite our international sales,” he explained. PBMR fuel is based on a proven high-quality German fuel design consisting of low-enriched uranium triple-coated isotropic particles contained in a molded graphite sphere (the “pebble”). Because South Africa boasts the world’s largest gold mining industry, it holds abundant reserves of uranium, a byproduct of gold production. This will enable the country to support its nuclear power plants globally and to sell nuclear fuel manufactured locally. Very little nuclear material remains in each spent fuel sphere, which makes it extremely proliferationresistant. The pebbles do not require an expensive waste disposal site and can be readily buried in any geologically stable formation. The PBMR modular concept gives utility clients flexibility in choosing the configuration that best matches their needs. The power plant design can be configured in two-, four- or eight-module arrangements, greatly reducing the capital required for installation. Units can be brought online at a rate that best matches the electricity demand growth of a region, saving millions of dollars in start-up costs. The modules can be added on without any interruption in current power generation. Because it’s small in size compared to traditional nuclear reactors and requires a smaller safety perimeter, the PBMR can be built in close proximity to the community it serves, eliminating the need and cost of thousands of miles of hightransmission cables. Planning for the future Alec Erwin, South Africa’s minister of public enterprises, has stated an intent to eventually produce between 4,000 to 5,000 MW of power from pebble bed reactors in South Africa. This equates to between 20 and 30 plants of 165 MW each. Erwin said the PBMR would place the country at the forefront of energy technology. “The project is now factored into our future energy planning, and we are negotiating a major intention-to-purchase agreement between Eskom and PBMR,” he said. As a further endorsement of the project, Westinghouse, one of the world’s leading nuclear power companies, has become a PBMR shareholder, replacing the 15 percent interest previously held by British Nuclear Fuels. Le Roex explained that South Africa’s pebble bed demonstration reactor project will take place in three phases. First, PBMR will obtain regulatory approvals (environmental impact assessment and licensing) to begin construction. Next, they will load the fuel, and finally, the client (Eskom) will operate the plant. “At the moment, we have drafted the safety case for construction and are reviewing and revising it with Eskom. It will soon be submitted to the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) here in South Africa for approval,” said le Roex. SmartPlant integrated workflow Intergraph’s SmartPlant Enterprise is playing a key role in the plant’s design and licensing stage. “We’re actually doing a full-house Intergraph implementation,” said le Roex. “The main power system – the reactor vessel, turbines and all the major parts that carry the helium between the turbine and the reactor – are being designed in Unigraphics. And then out of that, we’re driving the equipment 3D models into SmartPlant 3D. That’s where design comes together with electrical – and the 3D integration with electrical, P&ID, instrumentation and all of the other engineering disciplines – to control and produce the production drawings and specifications,” he said. “Because we’re operating in an integrated design environment,” he continued, “we’ve eliminated a huge amount of work duplication, data transfer and all associated configuration management. Intergraph provided an enormous amount of technical expertise and support by flying out a team of professionals from all over the world to conduct a week-long initial workshop. Our staff is currently being trained in SmartPlant P&ID, SmartPlant 3D, SmartPlant Foundation, SmartPlant Materials and advanced administration,” he said. PBMR has created an implementation team made up of smaller staff units. The sub-groups are responsible for 3D Design, Product Data Management, P&ID Design, Instrumentation and Electrical and Project Management. “The bottom line for us is that I don’t know how anyone can deliver a complex project like this one effectively without using something like the SmartPlant Enterprise suite. We are happy to collaborate with other organizations on best practices and how we have made use of Intergraph’s technology to achieve our goals,” said le Roex. “If you look at the return on investment over the life cycle of the project and all the time we’ve saved using Intergraph software, you’re looking at a very large number. I estimate our savings outweigh the costs by 10 to 1. At the end of the day, we at PBMR hope to become a model Intergraph site.” Pat Thomson is managing director of Intergraph Systems Southern Africa (ISSA), an Intergraph distributor. www.pbmr.com Nuclear Industry Insight 11
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