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Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023

May 12, 2020

The post Nuclear Reactor with 3D-Printed Core Slated for Operation in 2023 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor that will use a 3D-printed core, advanced materials, and integrated sensors and controls is on track for completion by 2023.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, work is ramping up to demonstrate the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR), an innovative micro-reactor program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and project partners, to include Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and industry participants. On May 11, ORNL announced the project has completed several “foundational” experiments, including selection of a core design. During a recent three-month “sprint,” it also demonstrated the “agility of the additive manufacturing technology” to quickly produce a prototype reactor core.

The development is notable for the project that got its start only 15 months ago, when it received $ 30 million from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy. “We have been aggressively developing the capability to make this program a reality over the last several months, and our effort has proven that this technology is ready to demonstrate a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core,” said Kurt Terrani, the TCR technical director.…

North Dakota’s Largest Coal Plant Set to Close

May 8, 2020

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The largest coal-fired power plant in North Dakota is scheduled to close in 2022, with the Minnesota-based wholesale electric power cooperative that operates the facility saying the lost generation will be mostly replaced by wind power.

Minnesota-based Great River Energy, which supplies electricity to the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with other parts of the state, on May 7 announced it will close the 40-year-old Coal Creek Station power plant near Underwood, North Dakota. The plant, which employs about 260 workers, produces about half of the electricity that Great River sells to 28 member-owned electric cooperatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to Jon Brekke, Great River’s vice president. Brekke said the move enables the utility to move “in an opportunistic direction towards an evolved power supply portfolio,” and reflects “significant shifts in the wholesale [power] market.”

The power cooperative said it plans to invest more than $ 1.2 billion to purchase more than 1,100 MW of wind power from new projects, including at least 600 MW of wind power in southern and western Minnesota.…

COVID-19 Weighs on Siemens Gamesa Earnings

May 6, 2020

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Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) on May 6 said delays to its renewable energy projects, in part due to supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to negatively impact the company’s earnings this year.

The company reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said the COVID-19 outbreak “had a direct negative impact of €56 million [$ 60.63 million] on profitability, and intensified challenges experienced by the onshore business in India and Northern Europe.” SGRE reported that its margin on earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to 1.5% in the first three months of this year, down from 7.5% in the year-ago period.

The wind turbine maker, which is scheduled to be merged into a larger Siemens entity later this year, said earnings fell despite the company’s build of a record-breaking order book for equipment and services. SGRE last month withdrew its earnings guidance for 2020; Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer along with SGRE, has done the same.…

Is Vogtle Nuclear Expansion on Schedule? CEO Sounds Confident

May 2, 2020

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The post Is Vogtle Nuclear Expansion on Schedule? CEO Sounds Confident appeared first on POWER Magazine.

“We still expect to meet the November regulatory-approved in-service dates for both Units 3 and 4,” Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning said during the company’s first quarter earnings call on April 30. The in-service dates he was referring to are November 2021 and November 2022 for Units 3 and 4, respectively, at the Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Waynesboro, Georgia. The project is owned by four partners: Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power (45.7%), Oglethorpe Power Corp. (OPC, 30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power, 22.7%), and Dalton Utilities (1.6%).

Furthermore, Fanning said site managers continue to believe they can hit target dates set in the company’s “Aggressive Site Workplan,” which are May 2021 and May 2022, respectively. “Is it riskier than it was before? Yeah. But it’s still a reasonable objective; otherwise, we wouldn’t stick with it,” said Fanning.

Significant Progress Made on Both New Vogtle Units

About two weeks ago, Southern Company announced it would reduce the workforce on the project by 20% in an effort to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.…

GE, Siemens, Utilities Take Hits From Coronavirus

April 28, 2020

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Lincoln-Project-Combustion-Gas-Turbine-Delivery-Siemens

U.S. power plant operators continue to change procedures at their facilities, including pushing back scheduled maintenance, due to lockdowns and quarantines associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The changes are impacting companies such as General Electric (GE) and Siemens, which are major service providers to power plants, at a time when these global companies already are taking a revenue hit due to COVID-19.

Maintenance of power plant generation equipment is a major revenue source for Siemens, GE, and other equipment manufacturers. GE’s aviation unit earlier this month announced it would furlough half of the division’s engine manufacturing workers, idling thousands of staff for as much as four weeks. That announcement came a few weeks after the company said it would cut 10% of the workers in that unit, or about 2,600 jobs. The company’s aviation business is struggling as airlines worldwide reduce orders, with many airlines simply parking planes due to the global collapse in air travel.…

Canada SMR Initiative Adds New Brunswick Project

April 26, 2020

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Moltex Energy, a privately held nuclear power development company headquartered in the UK with an office in New Brunswick, Canada, has entered into a collaboration agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to support Moltex’s nuclear fuel development program for its Stable Salt Reactor (SSR), among the latest technology advancements for small modular reactors (SMRs). The agreement is backed by CNL’s Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative (CNRI).

Moltex Energy’s SSR is a 300-MWe SMR. The company’s latest research and development supports the second and third phases of the Oxide Nuclear Waste Reduction Demonstration (ONWARD) project, which explores the commercial viability of the Waste To Stable Salts (WATSS) technology to convert used CANDU (CANadian Deuterium Uranium) fuel into new fuel, enabling production of clean energy from an SSR. The first phase of the program is ongoing. CNL is the developer of the CANDU process, featuring a pressurized heavy water reactor (PWR).…