atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 10.2020

atw Vol. 65 (2020) | Issue 10 ı October
breeder reactor that forms the basis
for the development of a commercial
breeder reactor, is operated in a
suburb of Beijing. [6]
India has 22 nuclear power plants
in operation with installed capacities
between 160 and 500 MWe, two
VVER-1000 and a small breeder
reactor. One fast breeder reactor with
500 MWe, four PHWRs (Pressurized
Heavy-Water Reactors) with 700 MWe
and two VVER-1000 are under
construction. [1]
There is also construction activity
in South Korea (four reactors)
and Bangladesh which is currently
building its first two nuclear power
plants.
Several Central and Eastern
European countries (Slovakia/
Mochovce, Poland/Zarnowiec, Hungary/Paks,
Belarus/Ostrovets, Slovenia/Krsko,
Czech Republic/Dukovany
and Temelin, etc.) continue to focus
on nuclear energy. They want to
reduce their dependence on coal and
natural gas imports or replace their
existing nuclear power plants with
new, state-of-the-art facilities. In
Slovakia, for example, in addition to
Mochovce, there are currently two
Russian reactors under construction.
It is also worth noting that the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), which
has large oil reserves and solar energy,
is banking also on nuclear energy for
the future. In the summer of 2012,
they began construction of the first of
4 Korean-designed nuclear power
plant (PWR) units. The first plant has
already become critical and started
producing electricity in 2020. All four
reactors should be in operation by
2023.
Turkey has also decided to embark
on using nuclear energy. The country’s
first nuclear power plant has been
under construction on the Akkuyu site
on the Mediterranean coast since
Argentina 1 USA 2
Brazil 1 China 10
Finland 1 Bangladesh 2
France 1 Turkey 1
India 7 UAE 4
Iran 1 Belarus 2
Pakistan 2 Japan 2
Russia 4 South Korea 2
Slovakia 2 Taiwan 4
United
Kingdom
2
| Tab. 3.
Number of nuclear power plants under
construction worldwide (status mid-2020) [3].
| Fig. 6.
Schedule for Generation IV plants [6].
April 2018. Four further units are
planned in the north on the Sinop site.
The USA operates 95 reactor units
with a capacity of around 94 GWe and
promotes all forms of low-carbon
energy, including the construction of
one of the two new nuclear power
plants at the Vogtle site in Georgia.
The USA also supports the development
of SMR, a modular concept of
significantly space-saving design and
partially new technology with the
goal of inherent safety.
Many of the more than 160 nuclear
power plants currently under
construc tion or in planning worldwide
belong to Generation III. In the
coming years, these advanced reactor
types will modernize the fleet of
Generation II nuclear power plants in
many countries and replace fossil
power plants. In many cases, the
Generation III reactor systems are a
further development of the reliable
Generation II reactor types.
In addition to greater efficiency
due to a lower uranium requirement
per kWh and improved cost-effectiveness
due to standardized and modular
construction methods, these reactor
types offer even greater safety as a
result of technical innovations.
Gene ration III safety means that, even
in the event of serious accidents, any
serious impacts are limited to the
plant itself.
The next step in development
are the plants of Generation IV. The
reactor concepts include:
p Gas-cooled fast reactors
p Very-high-temperature gas reactors
p Sodium-cooled fast reactors
p Lead-cooled fast reactors
p Supercritical water-cooled reactors
p Molten salt reactors
The Generation IV reactors will be so
safe and reliable that, in the event of
an accident within the plant, there
will be no need to evacuate the
population in the vicinity of the power
plant. In case of power failures and a
failure of the core cooling systems,
there will be sufficient time to repair
and restore the cooling systems.
The safety concept will be efficient,
reliable and economical.
Future plans –
Russia and Asia are focusing
on nuclear energy
Russia, China and India are pursuing
ambitious expansion projects.
Russia [2] wants to commission
two new plants a year so that it can
export more natural gas to Western
Europe at good prices. The country
holds a leading position in the
development and operation of
FBRs. It operates two sodium-cooled
reactors – the BN-600 and BN-800.
In parallel, Rosatom is developing
another reactor generation (Generation
VI) with new technology, a
Pb-cooled FBR with liquid fuel.
China [5] has an enormous
demand for electricity due to its large
population, emerging economy and
industrialisation. In addition to an
extensive program to build new coalfired
power plants to meet demand
in the short to medium term, the
previously moderate development of
nuclear energy has accelerated considerably.
The aim is to reduce air
pollution and CO 2 emissions. As a
result, there are three dozen nuclear
power plants at an advanced stage of
planning. The overall plan is to have
around 300 GWe connected to the
grid by 2050 to meet the huge energy
demand. This is an important part of a
secure power supply with carbon-free
energy.
India, which currently only produces
some 40 TWh from nuclear
energy, has set itself an extremely
ambitious target. It is planning to
connect 470 GWe of nuclear energy to
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY 495
Environment and Safety
Nuclear Energy – Reliable, Safe, Economical and Always Available to Protect the Environment ı Peter Dyck