atw Vol. 63 (2018) | Issue 3 ı March
| | Rosatomflot increased the number of ice-breaking escorts through the Northern Sea Route in 2017
the Yuribei took part in loading the
first batch of Yamal LNG.
The contract for the port fleet
services is in effect till December 2040
with potential prolongation to two
periods of 5 years each.
The “Atomflot’s Plan of Measures to
Hold the Environmental Year in 2017”
was implemented. The company
operates with no spent nuclear fuel
and radioactive waste accumulating.
In 2017, the disposal of the nuclear
icebreaker Sibir and floating maintenance
base Lepse continued.
In June 2017, the off-shipment of
the first batch of spent nuclear fuel
from Andreeva Bay’s storage facility
for further reprocessing at the
Rosatomflot’s lighter ship Rossita was
the important event for rehabilitation
of the North-West Region.
The positive developments of
Atomflot and the work to conclude
long-term contracts on ice-breaking
services in large-scale projects in the
Arctic Zone of Russia are expected to
allow Rosatomflot to keep with pace
in all main businesses of the company
in 2018.
| | (18501545), www.rosatom.ru
Fennovoima: Support has
increased for Finland’s
Hanhikivi Nuclear Project
(nucnet) Local support for the Hanhikivi-1
nuclear power plant project in
Finland has increased by 7.6 % since
last year, according to a telephone
survey of 850 people.
Project developer Fennovoima said
75 % of residents in the Pyhäjoki area
support the plant, which is scheduled
to begin commercial operation in
2024.
When surrounding municipalities
were also taken into account, 71.9 %
of residents were in favour of the
project, an increase of 9.9 % over a
similar survey last year.
Fennovoima said the increased support
is an indication that the impact of
the Hanhikivi-1 project, which is using
Russian reactor technology, is becoming
more visible. Fennovoima said
local companies have been “strongly
involved” in the project.
| | (18501707), www.fennovoima.fi
Saudi Arabia to award nuclear
contracts by end of year
(nucnet) Saudi Arabia, the world’s
biggest oil exporter, plans to award
contracts in December 2018 for the
construction of its first nuclear power
plants, Bloomberg reported, quoting a
government official involved with the
project.
The kingdom has received requests
from five bidders from China, France,
the US, South Korea and Russia to
perform the engineering, procurement
and construction work on two
nuclear reactors, Abdulmalik al
Sabery, a consultant in the business
development department at King
Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable
Energy, said in an interview in
Abu Dhabi.
“By April we will sign a project
development agreement with two to
three selected vendors,” Mr al Sabery
said. “We are going to have only one
winner that will be building the two
reactors.” The government expects
construction to start next year and is
aiming to commission the plants in
2027, he said.
Saudi Arabia wants to diversify its
economy and lessen its dependence
on oil sales for most of its official
revenue. As part of these reforms, the
country wants to meet a larger share
of its energy needs from renewables
such as solar power and from nuclear
plants.
Its neighbour the United Arab
Emirates is close to completing the
first of four reactors supplied by South
Korea at the Barakah nuclear station.
In September 2017 a Saudi official
told the International Atomic Energy
Agency that the kingdom was carrying
out feasibility studies before deciding
how and where to build its first reactors.
The official said Saudi Arabia
would have an independent body to
supervise its nuclear industry by the
third quarter of 2018.
| | (18501719), www.emergy.gov.sa
Finland: Loviisa had record
production year in 2017
(nucnet) Fortum’s two-unit Loviisa
nuclear power station had a record
production year in 2017, generating
8.16 TWh (net) of power, which is
more than 10 % of Finland’s total
electricity production.
Fortum said the 92.7 % load factor
of the Loviisa facility was among the
best in the world for pressurised water
reactor power plants.
Loviisa-1’s load factor was 92.7 %
and Loviisa-2’s was 92.6 %. Production
output at Loviisa-1 was the
highest in the station’s history and at
Loviisa-2 was the second highest.
Both units underwent a short
refuelling annual outage in 2017. Unit
1 was out of production for 21 days
and Unit 2 for 17 days.
In addition to normal scheduled
maintenance and fuel replacement,
high-pressure safety injection pump
motors were renewed. A turbine’s
high-pressure housing was modernised
and two turbine reheaters
replaced to increase the power plants’
production and improve efficiency.
Fortum sad its investments in
Loviisa in 2017 were approximately
€90m ($108m), compared to €100m
in 2016. Investments in the coming
years will continue to be significant,
the company said.
Both Fortum units are 502-MW
PWRs supplied by Russia. Unit 1
began commercial operation in May
1977 and Unit 2 in January 1981.
| | (18501713), www.fortum.com
China: Tianwan-3
aynchronised to grid
(nucnet) The Tianwan-3 nuclear plant
under construction in Jiangsu province,
northeastern China, has been
synchronised to the grid and has
delivered its first kilowatt-hours of
electrical energy at a power level of
25 %, Russia’s state nuclear corporation
Rosatom said on 2 January
2017.
Rosatom said the 990-MW VVER
V-428M unit, which reached first
criticality in September 2017, would
now undergo a series of tests at power
levels of 50 %, 75 % and 100 %. At
100 % power the unit will be operated
for 100 hours before regulators
195
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