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An Asian Nuclear Duo: Monju Down, Bataan Up?

August 31, 2016

With costs for a restart escalating, Japan is considering scrapping its troubled Monju fast breeder nuclear reactor, just as a never-started nuclear plant in the Philippines may get a new lease on life.

Monju May Be Finished

Japan Times reported that readying the Monju plant for restart “would cost several hundred billion yen.” Sources said that “a political decision” on decommissioning is likely. The science ministry has been looking for someone to run the 280-MW facility (Figure 1) but has found no takers.

Japan's troubled Monju breeder reactor may be decommissioned after a government agency estimated a restart could cost . Courtesy: Nife/Wikipedia

1. Japan’s troubled Monju breeder reactor may be decommissioned after a government agency estimated a restart could cost billions of dollars. Courtesy: Nife/Wikipedia

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) last year ordered the ministry to come up with a new operator because of the plant’s poor performance. Construction began in 1986, and the plant first went critical in 1994. But a nasty fire caused by a leak of sodium coolant in December 1995 shut the plant down and led to a scandal as the semi-governmental operator at the time tried to cover up the accident.…

Putin and Erdogan Meeting: Implications for Gas and Nuclear Projects

August 11, 2016

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Following a failed coup attempt on July 15 in Turkey, the country’s leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signaled that he may be willing to threaten the long-term energy stability of the European Union (EU) by reentering into a partnership with Russia to ship massive amounts of Siberian-produced gas into the West, which could foil EU plans to create greater energy diversity.

After a joint declaration on Tuesday, August 9 that called for resuming construction of the stalled Russian-backed TurkStream pipeline project, Turkish and Russian officials the following day indicated that they may also make a major change to the EU-backed $ 10 billion Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project. Initially intended to facilitate shipments from Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey, it may be combined with the reauthorized TurkStream pipeline. If this happens, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom will exercise high levels of control over both projects.

Competition for Gas Sources and Delivery Routes

Muddying the waters even more, just before Erdogan met with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Russian president was in Baku, Azerbaijan, meeting with his Azeri and Iranian counterparts to discuss new ways these nations could work together to produce and ship gas supplies.…

Exelon, America’s Leading Nuclear Generator, Keeps the Faith on Nukes

July 25, 2016

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The U.S. nuclear power business is in trouble, and Exelon has six units totaling more than 5,300 MW of dependable capacity on the chopping block. How will the Chicago electricity giant respond? Perhaps by acquiring more merchant nuclear capacity?

Chicago-based Exelon Corp., the largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., is facing what could be the greatest challenge in the company’s history. Exelon confronts the potential shutdown of six operating nuclear generating units at four stations, out of a fleet of 23 units at 14 stations across the country.

This comes after Exelon essentially abandoned coal, selling off its interests in coal-fired generation. In late 2014, the company unloaded its last minority shares in major coal generation, the Keystone (42%) and Conemaugh (32%) plants in central Pennsylvania, once a significant element in its power mix (see sidebar “Exelon’s Generating Fleet”). RTO Insider newsletter commented, “Exelon once had extensive coal-fired generation but has either sold or retired them over the years as it concentrated on new gas-fired generation and its massive nuclear fleet.”…

Entergy Considering Sale of FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant to Exelon

July 13, 2016

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Entergy Corp. announced on July 13 that it is in discussions with Exelon Corp. concerning the potential sale of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, N.Y.

The news comes following the release of the New York Department of Public Service’s proposal to subsidize zero-emissions attributes of upstate nuclear power plants, including FitzPatrick (Figure 1).

1. James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. Entergy plans to close the 838-MW single-unit facility on January 27, 2017. The company said its decision was based on “the continued deteriorating economics of the facility.” Source: Entergy Corp.

Entergy announced on November 2, 2015, that it would retire the FitzPatrick plant. Key drivers cited by the company included “significantly reduced plant revenues due to low natural gas prices, a poor market design that fails to properly compensate nuclear generators like FitzPatrick for their benefits, as well as high operational costs.”

Today, Entergy said its discussions with Exelon are consistent with its commitment to consider any viable option that would allow FitzPatrick to remain in operation.…

Expansion Joint Bellows Rupture Forces D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant Offline

July 7, 2016

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Indiana Michigan Power—a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP)—reported that Unit 2 of its Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich., was forced offline on July 6 due to an expansion joint bellows rupture on the unit’s moisture separator reheater.

Although no one was in the area at the time and there were no injuries, an adjacent turbine building exterior wall was damaged when the roughly 48-inch-diameter bellows burst. The component is part of the plant’s secondary steam system, providing nonradioactive steam to the low-pressure turbine.

An Unusual Event, the lowest level alert on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) emergency response scale, was declared at 12:50 a.m. due to the unanticipated incident. The event was terminated at 2:07 a.m. The company said all appropriate notifications to local, state, and federal officials were made.

Unit 2 was shut down manually, with no impact to public health and safety. Unit 1 was not involved in the event and remains in operation at full power.…

U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Closures [Slideshow]

June 25, 2016

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According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power has accounted for about 20% of electricity generated in the U.S. each year since 1990. In fact, the U.S. nuclear fleet out produced France—the country with the next highest nuclear generation—by more than two to one in 2012. Russia was a distant third, generating less than a quarter of the U.S. total.

But times of late have been tough for U.S. nuclear generators. Natural gas prices are at historic lows, leading to cheap gas-fueled generation. Even with climate concerns and a worldwide movement to reduce CO₂ emissions, the market is not rewarding nuclear power’s zero-carbon generation. In competitive markets, nuclear power is not competitive.

Since October 2012, U.S. nuclear plant owners have closed or announced closure of 14 reactor units at 11 plant sites. Many of the units had already gone through the lengthy process of obtaining 20-year license extensions, which would have allowed them to operate until the 2030s in some cases.…