atw Vol. 63 (2018) | Issue 3 ı March
196
NEWS
* Ouranos, the Greek
god who became
Uranus in Roman
mythology and from
whom the planet
Uranus takes its
name, was later to
serve as a point of
reference when the
term “uranium” was
created.
approve commercial operation. Constriction
of the unit began in December
2012.
The Tianwan nuclear station is the
largest economic cooperation project
between Russia and China, an earlier
statement said. Tianwan-1 and -2,
also VVER V-428M units, began
commercial operation in 2007. The
Tianwan-4 VVER V-428M unit is also
under construction by Russia.
Tianwan-5 and -6 will be indigenous
Generation II+ CNP-1000 units.
| | (18501708), www.rosatom.ru,
www.cnnc.com.cn
France: EDF ompletes cold
functional testing at Flamanville-3
EPR
(nucnet) France’s nuclear operator
EDF has completed the cold func tional
test phase for the Flamanville-3
EPR under construction in northern
France, the state-controlled company
said in a statement on 8 January 2018.
The cold functional testing phase
is part of the system performance
testing, which started in the first
quarter of 2017, to check and test
operation of all the EPR’s systems.
The cold functional test phase,
which started on 18 December 2017
and was completed on 6 January
2018, saw the successful completion
of the leak performance test on the
primary system at a pressure greater
than 240 bar – higher than the
pressure of this system in operation.
More than 500 welds were inspected
during this hydrostatic testing, supervised
by the regulator ASN.
EDF is now preparing hot functional
testing of the 1,600-MW unit to
be started in July 2018. The objective
is to demonstrate the good working
order of the plant by testing components
with temperature and pressure
levels similar to operating conditions.
EDF said fuel loading and start-up
of the reactor is scheduled for the last
quarter of 2018.
The group has also confirmed the
cost of the project set at €10.5bn
($12.5bn). A previous estimate of the
total cost in July 2011 was €8bn.
| | (18501715), www.edf.com
Russia: Rostov-4 reaches
first criticality
(nucnet) The Rostov-4 nuclear unit
near Volgodonsk in southern Russia
has reached first criticality and minimum
controlled power, state nuclear
corporation Rosatom said.
Construction of the VVER-1000/
V-320 unit began in June 2010. There
are three other units of the same
design in commercial operation at
Rostov.
When Rostov-4 reaches full power
and commercial operation, nuclear
power will provide 54 % of power in
southern Russia, Rosatom said.
According to the International
Atomic Energy Agency, Russia has 35
nuclear units in commercial operation
and seven, including Rostov-4, under
construction. In 2016 nuclear energy’s
share of electricity production was
17.14 %.
| | (18501710), www.rosatom.ru
Spain: Nuclear reactors
lead electricity generation
with more than 21 %
(nucnet) Spain’s seven commercial
nuclear reactors produced 55.6 TWh
of electricity in 2017, making nuclear
the energy source that contributed
most to the country’s electric system,
the Madrid-based industry group Foro
Nuclear said on 8 January 2017.
Quoting figures from grid operator
Red Eléctrica de España (REE), Foro
Nuclear said Spain’s nuclear fleet
accounted for 7.06 % of installed
power generation capacity, but produced
21.17 % of the total electric
energy consumed. This compares to
21.38 % in 2016 and 20.34 % in 2015.
Foro Nuclear said nuclear power
plants were operational for 7,500
hours during 2017, or 86 % of the
time, the highest number of hours of
any generation source.
Foro Nuclear president Ignacio
Araluce said the nuclear sector’s
performance “represents the availability,
reliability, stability and predictability
offered by nuclear energy”
as it operates continuously and facilitates
the proper management of the
electric system.
He said nuclear power plants do
not emit contaminating gasses or
particles to the atmosphere. In 2017
nuclear production accounted for
almost 40 % of emissions-free electricity
generated in Spain.
| | (18501714), www.foronuclear.org
UAE’s Barakah-3 and -4
connected to grid
(nucnet) The Barakah-3 and -4 nuclear
units under construction in the United
Arab Emirates have been connected to
the grid, Emirates Nuclear Energy
Corporation (ENEC) said today.
ENEC said connecting Units 3 and
4 to the grid will allow the next stage
of testing and the completion of
auxiliary buildings on the site.
The UAE is building four South
Korean APR-1400 reactors at the
Barakah nuclear site, about 240km
west of Abu Dhabi city.
According to ENEC, Unit 4 is more
than 60 % complete, Unit 3 is more
than 79 %, Unit 2 is more than 90 %,
and Unit 1 is undergoing commissioning
and testing before a regulatory
review and receipt of the operating
Licence from the Federal Authority for
Nuclear Regulation.
| | (18501711), www.enev.gov.ua
Company News
New Areva:
We are now Orano!
(orano) New Areva has become
Orano. Refocused on nuclear materials
development and waste management,
Orano’s activities encompass
mining, conversion-enrichment, used
fuel recycling, nuclear logistics, dismantling
and engineering. The group
has 16,000 employees, with a revenue
of 4 billion euros and an order backlog
that represents the equivalent of
nearly eight years of revenue. Its
mining and conversion-enrichment
activities place it in the top three
worldwide. Orano is a leader in
nuclear recycling and logistics, and
is developing its business in the
medical field.
The name Orano has its etymological
roots in the word “uranium”*,
from which nuclear fuel is produced.
“Orano symbolizes a new start. A
new start that has been under preparation
for several years now. We have
set up a new organizational structure,
a new business plan, a new strategic
action plan and a new social contract.
Our new identity is the natural result
of all this.
Our new name symbolizes our
conviction: nuclear power has a
future, as it is a competitive, lowcarbon
energy that creates jobs. Orano
has all it needs to play a key role in
this. We have high ambitions for
Orano, namely for it to become the
leader in the production and recycling
of nuclear materials, waste management,
and dismantling within the
next ten years. I have full confidence
in our capacity to give nuclear energy
its full value.
I am very proud of leading this
group and the men and women who
are part of it,” comments Philippe
Knoche, CEO of Orano.
| | (18501521), www.orano.group
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