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<strong>VGB</strong> PowerTech 5 l <strong>2021</strong> Editorial Numbers abour nuclear power: 2020 Dear Readers, The use <strong>and</strong> expansion <strong>of</strong> nuclear energy continues to be characterised on the one h<strong>and</strong> by a geographically clearly shifted trend in its expansion from its regions <strong>of</strong> origin, North America <strong>and</strong> Europe, to the new players in Asia. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, it can be seen that both China <strong>and</strong> Russia are entering the global nuclear energy market as exporters <strong>of</strong> complete concepts. The target countries <strong>for</strong> these activities are not only countries with operating nuclear power plants, but also the so-called newcomers. The particular challenge here is that, in addition to the construction <strong>of</strong> the first nuclear power plants, a suitable infrastructure must also be installed. This concerns the technical sector <strong>for</strong> the future operation <strong>of</strong> the nuclear power plants, as far as it is required on site, as well as the regulatory environment. These national activities are supported internationally above all by the <strong>International</strong> Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has initiated a whole series <strong>of</strong> support <strong>and</strong> development programmes <strong>for</strong> these topics. Certainly impressive in this context is the commissioning <strong>of</strong> the first nuclear power plant unit in the Arab World, Unit 1 at the Barakah site in the United Arab Emirates. The country’s electricity supply is based almost exclusively on natural gas, supplied from domestic sources, with currently around 30,000 MW capacity. Since the Gulf States are also planning <strong>and</strong> implementing a diversification <strong>of</strong> their economy <strong>and</strong> (energy) infrastructure with a long-term view to the future, an <strong>of</strong>ficial review <strong>of</strong> the nuclear energy option took place in 2008. A year later, in December 2009, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) was founded <strong>and</strong> in the same month a consortium led by the Korea Elektric Power Corporation (KEPCO) won the tender <strong>for</strong> the construction <strong>of</strong> four APR-1400 nuclear power plant units with a total capacity <strong>of</strong> 5,600 MW. The <strong>of</strong>ficial groundbreaking ceremony was then held on 14 March 2011. On 31 July 2020, Unit 1 <strong>of</strong> the Barakah nuclear power plant reached first-criticality <strong>and</strong> was synchronised with the grid on 19 August. Commercial commissioning took place recently, on 1 April <strong>2021</strong>, with the other three units scheduled to be commissioned about a year apart. Overall, the United Arab Emirates <strong>and</strong> the operating company ENEC attach great importance to a lot <strong>of</strong> know-how <strong>and</strong> very well-trained personnel in their own country. With the commissioning <strong>of</strong> the first nuclear power plant exported to Belarus – two VVER V-491 units with a capacity <strong>of</strong> 1,194 MW each are currently planned – Russia has demonstrated how an infrastructure implemented with significant support from the supplier promotes the operation <strong>of</strong> nuclear power plants <strong>and</strong> that a nuclear power plant can be built quickly even in a newcomer environment. Construction <strong>of</strong> the Belarusian-1 unit started in November 2013, <strong>and</strong> initial criticality was achieved on 11 October 2020. With 442 nuclear power plants worldwide, there was one unit less in operation in 33 countries at the end <strong>of</strong> 2020 than a year be<strong>for</strong>e. At 451 nuclear power units, the number <strong>of</strong> plants in operation in 2018 was the highest since the first purely commercial nuclear power plant, Calder-Hall 1 in the UK, went into operation in 1956. Specifically, five units went critical <strong>and</strong> were synchronised with the grid <strong>for</strong> the first time: two units in China: Fuqing 5 <strong>and</strong> Tianwan-5, one unit in Russia: Leningrad-2-2, one unit in the United Arab Emirates: Barakah-1 <strong>and</strong> one unit in Belarus: Belarusian-1. Six nuclear power plant units ceased operation: In France, after 43 years <strong>of</strong> successful operation, the nuclear power plant units Fessenheim-1 <strong>and</strong> -2; in Russia, the RBMK unit Leningrad-2; in Sweden, the Ringhals-1 plant; <strong>and</strong> in the USA, the two units Duane Arnold-1 <strong>and</strong> Indian Point-2. In terms <strong>of</strong> electricity generation capacities, the gross output <strong>of</strong> nuclear power worldwide was 419,035 MWe, well above the 400,000 MWe mark. Nuclear energy can also report another good result in electricity generation. With a net generation <strong>of</strong> over 2,555 TWh, this was slightly lower than in the previous year with 2,567 TWh. However, due to 29 nuclear power plants in Japan still not in operation since 2011, this is even lower than be<strong>for</strong>e the tsunami <strong>and</strong> accident in Fukushima. The share <strong>of</strong> total global electricity production remained at 11 %; the share <strong>of</strong> nuclear energy in total global energy supply at around 4.5 % - these are certainly two remarkable figures: The 417 currently active nuclear power plants are capable <strong>of</strong> supplying one in ten people worldwide with electricity or one in twenty people worldwide cover their energy needs entirely with nuclear energy. Regionally <strong>and</strong> in the individual countries using nuclear energy, the share <strong>of</strong> nuclear energy in electricity generation varies, ranging from 6 % in China - a doubling within 5 years - to almost 71 % in France. 13 countries cover more than 30 % <strong>of</strong> their electricity generation with nuclear power. With 179 reactors, Europe continues to be the most important region using nuclear energy. With a share <strong>of</strong> about 26 %, approximately every fourth kilowatt hour <strong>of</strong> electricity consumed is generated in nuclear power plants. Among the newly started projects, there are five projects <strong>for</strong> 2020: In China, construction work began on the four units Sanaocun 1 (new site), Shidaowan 2, Taipingling 2 <strong>and</strong> Zhangzhou 2; in Turkey, construction <strong>of</strong> the second unit at the Akkuyu site began. Thus, 54 nuclear power plant units with 58,712 MWe gross <strong>and</strong> 54,803 MWe net capacity were under construction worldwide; one less than a year earlier due to the new commissionings. In addition, there are around 135 new construction projects that are in the extended planning stage. Dipl.-Ing. Christopher Weßelmann Editor in Chief <strong>VGB</strong> PowerTech Essen, Germany 1
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