atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 10.2020

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atw Vol. 65 (2020) | Issue 10 ı October 520 VAK Kahl Operator: VAK GmbH (RWE 80 %, E.ON 20 %) Milestones: p Start of construction June 1958 60 YEARS OF NUCLEAR POWER IN GERMANY | Fig. 3. The control room of the VAK, 1961. | Fig. 4. Decommissioning of the VAK, reactor building, 2005. | Fig. 5. „Green field“ of the former VAK site, September 2010. p First criticality 13 November 1960 p First grid connection 17 June 1961 p Cost of new build (1960) 34 Mio. DM (about 17 Mio. EUR, without adjustment of inflation) p Scheduled final shut-down 25 November 1985 Technical data: Boiling water reactor with 16 MW electrical and 60 MW thermal capacity p Net electricity supply to grid 2.1 billion (109) kWh p Time availability 69,9 % p Operation time 149,050 hours p Number of fuel elements 361 p Number of operating periods 24 Employees: At start-up about 75 permanent staff; during peak periods up to 123 employees | Tab. 2. VAK Kahl: Some facts about build and operation. continuously keep pace with the increasing safety requirements. During its 25 years of operation, the VAK proved to be a valuable test facility (Figure 3). The most important contributions to the testing were made by the VAK in the areas of material and fuel element testing. The aim of the materials testing was to find out how materials for reactor pressure vessels change as a result of permanent irradiation. For this purpose, material samples were brought close to the core and thus exposed to a much higher radiation power in defined operating times than would be the case in actual use. By means of these practical and anticipatory irradiation programmes, reliable statements on the suitability of the individual materials could be made after subsequent material analyses – important findings for the construction of the following nuclear power plant generation. As a test facility for fuel elements, the VAK made probably the most important contribution to the further development of nuclear technology. A total of 50 different types of fuel elements were used and put through their paces. For example, mixed oxide fuel elements (MOX; nuclear fuel made of uranium and plutonium) were tested for the first time and fuel elements for the later hot steam reactor were tested. With the results of these tests, basic calculation methods for fuel element planning and reactor operation could be developed which are in principle still used today. The training of the required personnel posed a particular challenge. In Germany, there were no nuclear power plants and also not yet the simulators that are common today. Therefore, the first team was sent to the Vallecitos nuclear power plant, USA, where they were deployed, among others, in shift operation. Thus, the basis was established which was continuously expanded in the first years with the help of American consultants. In order to maintain the experimental character of the VAK beyond the operating phase, RWE and Bayern werk agreed in advance that the VAK should be completely dis mantled to the “greenfield site” immediately after the end of operation (Table 2). This dismantling was intended to restore the original condition of the terrain with the proof that no inadmissible radioactivity is still present on the plant site. At that time, there was no comparable decommissioning project worldwide, so that here, too, new ground was broken (Figure 4). The overall decommissioning was then carried out by a company specialised in this field and the use of heavy demolition machines. In September 2010, this work was completed on schedule with the construction of the “greenfield site” (Figure 5). Author Dipl.-Ing. Christopher Weßelmann Editor in Chief, atw 60 Years of Nuclear Power in Germany 60 Years of Nuclear Power in Germany – Starting with First Criticality at the VAK, Kahl ı Christopher Weßelmann
atw Vol. 65 (2020) | Issue 10 ı October Nuclear Power World Report 2019 At the end of the year 2019, there were 443 nuclear power plant units in 31 countries in operation* worldwide. This means that the number of units dropped by 9 units to the key date of the previous year (31 December 2018: 452, -9 units, -2.0 %) (compare Figure 1) due to the commissioning of 4 new plants, and the final decommissioning of 13 plants. Of these 13 plants, which have been shut-down, 5 plants – all in Japan – have been in long-term shutdown since the year 2011. In the following are the values given on 31 December 2019 and change compared to the previous year as a percentage in brackets. There were 54 (53, +2.0 %) nuclear power plant units under construction in 19 (19) countries, in other words, 1 more than on the previous year’s key date. The available total gross capacity 1) of the nuclear plants operating amounted to 419,916 MWe (425,332 MWe, -1.3 %) and the total net capacity to 397,350 MWe (402,584 MWe, -1.3 %). This equates to an decrease of 5,416 MWe gross and 5,234 MWe net. The additional capacity results mainly from newly defined nominal capacities of operating plants (compare Table 1 and Figures 1 to 3). As of the year 2018 the base for all capacities, in particular for the U.S. nuclear power plant units, are the nameplate data. Due to cooling water conditions (higher or lower cooling water temperatures with respect to design capacity) actual gross and net capacities may vary by plus or minus 3 % of the nameplate (design) capacity. In some countries the lower capacity value is used for capacity data due to its relevance for system services. 521 REPORT In the year 2019, the nuclear power plant units Taishan 2 (PWR, type: EPR-1750, 1,750 MWe gross and 1,660 MWe net capacity) and Yangjiang 6 (PWR, type: ACPR-1000, 1,080 MWe gross and 1,000 MWe net capacity) in China, Shin-Kori 4 (PWR, type: APR-1400, 1,400 MWe gross and 1,340 MWe net capacity) in the Repubilc of Korea, and Novovoronezh 2-2 (PWR, type: VVER V-392M, 1,200 MWe gross and 1,115 MWe net capacity) in Russia reached first criticality, were connected to the grid for the first time and put into commercial operation. No further nuclear power plant reached first criticality only for the first time in 2019. In 2019 no additional nuclear power plant unit resumed operations after long-term shutdown. In Japan 9 of 33 nuclear power plants are currently in operation. They were restarted between 2015 and 2018 after lay-up operations respectively to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. E.g. in Canada in total 6 units were restarted after more than 10 years of lay-up operations respectively. In the course of the liberalisation of the Canadian electricity market in the mid-1990s, the operator at the time Ontario Hydro ascertained insufficient competitive capacity in the market environment for 4 units at the site Bruce with around 3,100 MW as well as for 4 others at the site Pickering with approximately 1,850 MW. That is the reason why the 8 CANDU units Bruce A1 to Bruce A4 and Pickering 1 to Pickering 4 were disconnected from the grid and removed from commercial operations between 1995 and 1997. Pickering 1 and Pickering 4 were re-commissioned in 2003 and 2005 by the new operator Ontario Power Generation due to changes in the market and after a retrofitting program. Bruce 3 and Bruce 4 were re-commissioned at the end of 2003/beginning of 2004. With the re-commissioning of both units Bruce A-1 and Bruce A-2 in 2012, the operator of the site BrucePower has completed his investment program successfully. The site is intended to secure the power supply in the region in the long-term during the coming decades. With a gross capacity of approximately von 6,740 MWe Bruce is also the nuclear power site with highest output worldwide. Currently both operators discuss an operational lifetime for the plants of 80 years. Country In operation Under construction Number Capacity gross [MWe] net [MWe] Number Capacity gross [MWe] net [MWe] Net nuclear electricity production [TWh] Nuclear share total [%] Argentina 3 1 750 1 627 1 29 25 7.90 5.90 Armenia 1 408 376 0 0 0 2.03 27.80 Bangladesh 0 0 0 2 2 400 2 160 - - Belarus 0 0 0 2 2 388 2 218 - - Belgium 7 6 220 5 937 0 0 0 41.40 47.60 Brazil 2 1 990 1 884 1 1 300 1 245 15.22 2.70 Bulgaria 2 2 000 1 906 0 0 0 15.87 37.50 Canada 19 14 385 13 517 0 0 0 94.85 14.90 China [1] 48 48 158 44 954 11 11 339 10 442 330.12 4.90 Czech Republic 6 4 133 3 925 0 0 0 28.58 35.20 Finland 4 2 860 2 752 1 1 720 1 600 22.91 34.70 France 58 65 880 63 130 1 1 720 1 630 382.40 70.60 Germany [2] 6 8 545 8 113 0 0 0 70.98 10.50 Hungary 4 2 000 1 889 0 0 0 15.41 49.20 India 22 6 780 6 219 7 5 300 4 824 40.74 3.20 Iran, Islamic Republic of [3] 1 1 000 915 1 1 057 974 5.87 1.80 Japan [4] 33 33 283 31 931 2 2 760 2 650 65.68 7.50 Korea, Republic of [5] 24 24 210 23 157 4 5 600 5 360 138.81 26.20 Mexico 2 1 640 1 560 0 0 0 10.88 5.50 Report Nuclear Power World Report 2019
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atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 10.2020

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