新着情報 - ティージーコンサルティング株式会社

京都大学発スタートアップの京都フュージョニアリング（東京都千代田区）は６日、世界初となる核融合を発電につなげるための試験プラントの建設を８月に始めると発表した。2024年末の発電開始を目指す。

Global Laser Enrichment, a joint venture between Australia's Silex Systems and Canada's Cameco, has agreed to work with Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress to accelerate the commercialization of the SILEX laser technology for uranium enrichment and shoring up US uranium, conversion and enrichment capabilities and capacity. GLE recently signed a similar agreement with Constellation Energy Generation.

Full Story: World Nuclear News (7/4)  

The Japanese government is planning for a safe restart of idle nuclear reactors, as nuclear power will play a key role in the country's efforts to decarbonize its economy and achieve energy independence, its annual economic policy outline's final draft states. In addition, regulatory oversight for nuclear facilities will include rigorous evaluations, the document reveals. Full Story: Reuters (6/6)

Westinghouse and Bloom Energy will co-develop a large-scale high-temperature integrated electrolysis system to enable clean hydrogen production using nuclear power. Bloom Energy Vice President of Hydrogen Business Rick Beuttel says his company's solid oxide technology "is well suited for nuclear applications, efficiently harnessing steam to further improve the economics of hydrogen production." Full Story: Power Engineering (6/6),  The Business Journals (tiered subscription model)/Pittsburgh (6/6)

Figures reported in Georgia Power's quarterly earnings statement suggest that the total cost of building two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia has reached and potentially exceeded $28.5 billion, more than double the original estimate of $14 billion. Meanwhile, Georgia Power is working to resolve a dispute with other owners, who claim that the latest cost overruns have triggered a 2018 agreement requiring the company to pay a larger share of the project. Full Story: The Associated Press (11/4)

Bulgarian Energy Holding will work with US-based Fluor Corporation to study the feasibility of replacing coal boilers with NuScale small nuclear reactors. Bulgaria plans to phase out coal no later than 2040.

Full Story: World Nuclear News (10/29)  

Five sites are being considered to house the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production plant, a prototype plant the UK will use to demonstrate the commercial viability of fusion energy. The sites include one in Scotland and four in England, and the project is expected to be completed in 2040.

Full Story: World Nuclear News (10/14)  

French energy company EDF has outlined an offer to build four to six of its EPR nuclear reactors in Poland, a country that lags behind others in the EU in emissions reduction. EDF's proposed project would supply a total of 6.6 to 9.9 gigawatts of power.

Full Story: Reuters (10/13)  

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a five-year, $35 billion plan to promote industry that allocates $8 billion to develop clean energy. The plan includes building one small modular reactor as well as two megafactories for the production of green hydrogen by 2030. Full Story: The Hindu (India)/The Associated Press (10/12),  BNN Bloomberg (Canada) (10/12),  Reuters (10/13)  

Germany's Environment Ministry has announced that the controversial Gorleben mine will be shut down after four decades as a nuclear waste storage facility. In the meantime, Germany continues to search for the perfect permanent waste disposal site, with vetting underway for 90 candidate locations identified so far.

Full Story: Deutsche Welle (Germany) (9/17)

The Illinois Senate has voted 37-17 to pass a sweeping clean energy package with $694 million in tax credits over five years for Exelon's Byron, Dresden and Braidwood nuclear power plants, the first of which was slated to close Monday. Exelon said it is now ready to refuel Byron and Dresden, while the American Nuclear Society urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign the bill into law quickly.

Full Story: Nuclear Newswire (American Nuclear Society) (9/14),  Reuters (9/13),  Power Engineering (9/13)  

Byron Generating Station (Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images)

Read More Nuclear News (Fri, Sep 10, 2021)

    

Tue, Aug 3, 2021, 2:00AM Nuclear News

Reactor Unit 3 at Georgia Power's Vogtle nuclear power plant has successfully achieved normal operating pressure and temperature during two months of hot functional testing. The process will go on for several more weeks and is the last testing hurdle before fuel loading can begin for a planned reactor startup in 2022.

Full Story: Power Engineering (6/28)  

Vogtle Unit 3 plant systems have successfully reached normal operating pressure and temperature during hot functional testing. Over the next several weeks, plant systems will continue to be tested at normal operating pressure and temperature.

Read More Nuclear News

Thu, May 6, 2021, 5:01AMANS Nuclear Cafe

The Biden administration has indicated to lawmakers that it supports federal subsidies for struggling nuclear power plants, Reuters reported this morning, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

Full Story: Virginia Business (5/4),  Power Engineering (5/4)

Plans to release water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean are moving forward, with an announcement expected this week from the Japanese government. There are about 1,000 water storage tanks at the site, expected to reach storage capacity next year.

Full Story: The Associated Press (4/9)  

Tokyo Electric Power Company has agreed to penalties handed down by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for lax security measures at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which will delay restarting the plant for at least a year. TEPCO, which also owns the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, will reduce pay for top company executives as part of the agreement.

Full Story: The Associated Press (4/7)  

The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland has issued a fuel loading permit for reactor Unit 3 of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The work includes loading 241 fuel assemblies into the reactor, which is expected to start producing commercial power in February 2022.

Full Story: NucNet (Belgium) (3/26)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeing more applications for nuclear power plant operating license extensions that would extend plants' useful lives to 80 or even 100 years. NRC Commission member David Wright says the agency is looking into concerns that may arise as NPPs age, including "neutron embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking related to pressure in the vessel, concrete and containment degradation and electrical cable qualification and conditioning monitoring."

Full Story: Reuters (3/2)

Featured Sessions & Events  

ANS invite to a special discussion that revisits Fukushima on the eve of the 10-year anniversary. Sign-up now for this free event this Tuesday, March 2, 1:00 - 2:30 pm EST.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused three reactor meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi on March 11, 2011, forever changed the nuclear power industry in Japan and worldwide.

A distinguished panel will discuss the lessons learned, the decontamination and decommissioning approach, and future challenges. The panel, which features several principal members of the ANS Special Committee on Fukushima, will also examine what the committee got right and what it got wrong in the Fukushima Daiichi report.

Panelists

Lake Barrett, Senior Advisor, TEPCO and IRID

Michael Corradini, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Paul Dickman, Senior Policy Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory

Dale Klein, Former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Joy Rempe, Principal, Rempe and Associates, LLC

主催　国立研究開発法人 日本原子力研究開発機構

　　　廃止措置人材育成高専等連携協議会

後援　復興庁　文部科学省　経済産業省

　　　国立高等専門学校機構　福島イノベーション・コースト構想推進機構

　　　原子力損害賠償・廃炉等支援機構　国際廃炉研究開発機構

　　　福島県　いわき市　広野町　楢葉町

　　　日本ロボット学会　日本原子力学会

特別協賛　(株)アトックス　日立ＧＥニュークリア・エナジー(株）

　　　　　技術者育成いわき経済活性化グループ

協賛　木村化工機(株)

事務局　福島高専

なお，午後からは一般公開で自由に視聴可能です

The Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy says that even with the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw many historic advances for the US nuclear industry, and it expects 2021 to be a record-breaking year. The agency says the top five projects to watch include the grid connection of Vogtle Unit 3, the first SMR full design certification, landing of the Mars rover Perseverance, establishment of a uranium reserve and more license renewals and reactor shutdowns.

Full Story: ANS Newswire (American Nuclear Society) (1/19)  

1. VOGTLE UNIT 3 CONNECTS TO THE GRID

NuScale Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with British firm Shearwater Energy to develop a hybrid energy project that combines small modular reactor technology and wind power on the island of Anglesey, off the coast of Wales. The plant would be used to power about 300,000 homes and generate 6.6 million pounds of "green" hydrogen gas.

Full Story: BBC (free registration) (1/15),  ANS Newswire (American Nuclear Society)

Congress has approved a stimulus bill that includes about $35.2 billion for energy, including $6.6 billion for the development of advanced nuclear reactors and upgrades for existing NPPs. In addition, the bill includes $4.7 billion to fund research on fusion energy.

Full Story: TechCrunch (tiered subscription model) (12/21)  

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan is formulating a new Plutonium Utilization Plan to promote the use of mixed uranium-plutonium fuel in Japan's nuclear power plants. FEPC says it will "aim to have at least 12 reactors running on pluthermal use" by fiscal year 2030.

Full Story: Nuclear Engineering International (12/22)  

December 16, 2020, 3:00PM|Nuclear News Staff

The Department of Energy today announced $30 million in initial fiscal year 2020 funding—with the expectation of more over the next seven years—for five companies selected for risk reduction for future demonstration projects. The chosen reactor designs from Kairos Power, Westinghouse, BWX Technologies, Holtec, and Southern Company collectively represent a range of coolants, fuel forms, and sizes—from tiny microreactors to a molten salt reactor topping 1,000 MWe. They were selected for cost-shared partnerships under the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) through a funding opportunity announcement issued in May 2020.

eVinci Microreactor, Westinghouse Electric Company. Westinghouse Nuclear, of Cranberry Township, Pa., will advance the design of a heat pipe–cooled microreactor to support a nuclear demonstration unit by 2024. The project is to reduce technical risks associated with the moderator canister design, improve the ability to manufacture heat pipe wicks, and develop an economically viable refueling process and licensing approach. Total award value over seven years: $9.3 million (DOE share: $7.4 million).

BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR), BWXT Advanced Technologies. BWX Technologies, of Lynchburg, Va., plans to develop a commercially viable transportable microreactor using TRISO fuel particles to achieve higher uranium loading and an improved core design using a silicon carbide matrix. Total award value over seven years: $106.6 million (DOE share: $85.3 million).

Holtec SMR-160 Reactor, Holtec Government Services. Holtec, based in Camden, N.J., is receiving funding for early-stage design, engineering, and licensing activities to accelerate the development of Holtec’s light-water-cooled SMR-160. Total award value over seven years: $147.5 million (DOE share: $116 million).

Southern Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment, Southern Company Services. Southern Company, based in Birmingham, Ala., is designing, constructing, and operating the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment to demonstrate the high-burnup capabilities of Southern’s liquid salt–fueled Molten Salt Reactor. Total award value over seven years: $113 million (DOE share: $90.4 million).

ARDP background: The DOE was directed by the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act to establish the ARDP to help domestic private industry demonstrate advanced nuclear reactors. The program has three components: advanced reactor demonstrations, risk reduction for future demonstrations, and advanced reactor concepts 2020 (ARC 20).

In October 2020, the DOE announced the selection of TerraPower and X-energy to receive $160 million in initial demonstration funding to develop and construct two advanced nuclear reactors that can be operational within seven years. An announcement of ARC-20 funding, to support designs in their earliest phases with the potential to commercialize in the mid-2030s, is expected later this month.