Nuclear Plant Journal - Digital Versions

Utility, Industry & CorporationUtilityTop PerformerNuclear energy continues to be themost reliable energy source in the UnitedStates with Entergy’s nuclear fleet leadingthe way, according to a report released bythe American Nuclear Society.In the report released in May 2010,the median rating capacity factor forEntergy’s 11 nuclear plants was 90.8percent during the three-year periodbetween 2007 and 2009. This meansoverall Entergy’s nuclear plants wereonline producing safe, low-cost energymore than 90 percent of the time, rankingthird in the industry among companiesowning five or more nuclear plants.Contact: Danny Blanton, telephone:(601) 368-5658, email: dblant1@entergy.com.PartnershipNuclear Innovation North AmericaLLC (NINA), the nuclear developmentcompany jointly owned by NRG Energy,Inc. and Toshiba Corporation, hasreached an agreement with The TokyoElectric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO)to partner in the two new nuclear units atthe South Texas Project (STP).TEPCO will invest $155 million—through its U.S.-based subsidiary—for a10% share of NINA Investments Holdings’interest in the STP expansion, STP units3&4, once a conditional commitmentfor U.S. Department of Energy loanguarantee is secured for the project.Contact: David Knox, telephone:(609) 795-6106.IndustryResearch andDevelopmentU.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chuannounced the selection of 42 universityledresearch and development projectsfor awards totaling $38 million. Theseprojects, funded over three to four yearsthrough the Department’s Nuclear EnergyUniversity Program, will help advancenuclear education and develop the nextgeneration of nuclear technologies.Twenty-three U.S. universities willact as lead research institutions for projectsin 17 states. Other universities, industries,and national laboratories will serveas collaborators and research partners.The projects focus on four nuclear energyresearch areas Fuel Cycle Research andDevelopment, Generation IV ReactorResearch and Development, Light WaterReactor Sustainability, and Mission-RelevantInvestigator-Initiated Research.For more information on the awardsgo to http://nuclear.gov/pdfFiles/NEUP_FY10_RDAwards.pdf.Contact: telephone: (202) 856-4940.CorporationTurbine FacilityOn 24 June 2010, Alstom inaugurateda new production facility for steamturbines, gas turbines, large turbo-generatorsand related equipment for the NorthAmerican fossil fuel and nuclear powergeneration market. It will also retrofit existingsteam turbines with leading edgetechnology.The new facility, located inChattanooga, Tennessee, USA, resultsfrom an investment of approximately$300 million. It will eventually createaround 350 jobs.Contact: Philippe Kasse, telephone:33 1 41 49 29 82 133 08.ECM GroupDay & Zimmermann has realignedits offerings to the power, process andindustrial markets to form a new Engineering,Construction and Maintenance(ECM) group. This new group integratesDay & Zimmermann’s former Power Servicesbusiness with its Engineering, Procurementand Construction business. TheECM group, led by President MichaelMcMahon, will focus on providing turnkeysolutions that include engineering,construction, fabrication, procurementand maintenance services. McMahon hasbeen with Day & Zimmermann for 16years, previously serving as president ofthe Power Services business.Contact: Maureen Omrod, telephone:(215) 299-2234, email: Maureen.Omrod@Dayzim.com.PatentsHoltec International has beenawarded three new patents in the fieldof dry and wet storage of spent nuclearfuel. These patents, along with sometwo dozen previously awarded or in theUnited States Patent and TrademarkOffice approval pipeline, advance thestate-of-the-art in the areas of storage andtransport of used nuclear fuel.Patent No. 7,676,016B2, issued onMarch 9, 2010, covers a new embodimentfor underground storage of loaded canisters.This patent, the second granted toHoltec on underground canister storage,provides an economical alternative forsites that need to load a large number ofcanisters in one campaign, such as a plantthat has been shut down and is being decommissioned.Patent No. 7,330,526B2,awarded to Holtec in February 2008,covers another underground storage embodiment.A third patent on undergroundfuel storage (which describes the physicalsystem licensed by the USNRC in DocketNo. 72-1014 in 2009) is expected to beissued later this year.Contact: Joy Russell, telephone:(856) 797-0900, email: J.Russell@holtec.com.CertificatesMARMEN announced the companyhas received the official certificatesfor ASME NPT and NA certificates ofauthorization as well as NS certificate ofaccreditation from the American Societyof Mechanical Engineers (ASME).MARMEN is a company specializingin high-precision machining, fabricationand mechanical assembly of parts of allsizes.Contact: Eric Bellemare, telephone:(819) 379-0453, email: eric.bellemare@marmen.qc.ca.(Continued on page 14)10 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2010