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Lloyd’s Register on Current Nuclear Power Challenges

September 6, 2016

POWER Editor Gail Reitenbach interviewed King Lee of Lloyd’s Register on June 29 at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Le Bourget, France. The firm is a “non-profit distributing charity with a public benefit mandate,” which means that it is independent from shareholders, and profits are distributed to a variety of educational and other charities. Its nuclear group has provided independent, expert technical advice on safety and risk management for more than 60 years, beginning with the UK’s Calder Hall reactors in the 1950s. The UK vote to exit the European Union (EU), known as “Brexit,” had taken place the previous week. Questions and answers have been edited for length and style.

GR: What effect do you think Brexit, if it actually goes through, will have on UK nuclear plans and the European power sector generally?

KL: I think it’s too early to say whether Brexit will happen, and if it does happen, what form it will take, because the details will have to be worked out between the UK and EU countries.…

DOE Invests $28M in Research Projects to Enable Near-Zero-Emitting Fossil Fuel–Based Power Generation

August 27, 2016

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Fourteen research and development projects to scale up coal-based advanced combustion power systems and gasification processes and improve costs and endurance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have won investments of more than $ 28 million from the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Energy Department on August 24 announced it has selected the projects to help “enable cost-competitive, fossil fuel–based power generation with near-zero emissions.”

Projects to Support 10-MW Pilots with Near-Zero Emissions

Three of the 14 projects were selected to complete preliminary designs of 10-MW pilot plants based on advanced combustion systems. The DOE invested $ 3.2 million in pre-project planning for a General Electric (GE) chemical looping combustion pilot plant. It also invested $ 3.3 million for pre-project planning for a flameless pressurized oxycombustion pilot plant spearheaded by San Antonio–based Southwest Research Institute, ITEA, Jacobs, the Electric Power Research Institute, General Electric Global Research, and Peter Reineck. Another $ 3.3 million went to Babcock & Wilcox and The Ohio State University for a front-end engineering and design study for their coal-direct chemical looping pilot plant

Each of the 10-MW pilots will be capable of capturing 90% of carbon dioxide emissions and will contain design features that will be assessed prior to commercial-scale demonstration, the DOE said.…

Explosion at Chinese Coal Power Plant Reportedly Kills 21

August 15, 2016

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News agencies are reporting that an explosion at a coal-fired power plant in Dangyang, a city in central China, has killed at least 21 people and injured five others, three seriously.

The event is said to have occurred around 3:20 p.m. local time on August 11. The facility—designed to generate thermal power and sell slag, ash, and petroleum products—is owned by Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Some sources suggested that the plant is in the process of being commissioned and was undergoing testing at the time of the incident.

Steam pipe explosion at central #Hubei , #China power station kills 21, injures 5
pic.twitter.com/syqbBlhKCa

— Mete Sohtaoğlu (@metesohtaoglu) August 11, 2016

It has been difficult to establish specifics about the blast. An investigation is said to still be in progress. Initial reports identified the plant as a chemical facility, but it was later determined to be the coal power plant site. Although several sources have suggested that the event was triggered when “a high-pressure steam pipe exploded,” the number of casualties, ensuing fire, and volume of black smoke shown in pictures posted on Twitter that are said to be of the event, suggest that something much more explosive initiated the incident.…

Massive Fire Forces DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant Offline

August 13, 2016

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A massive fire broke out at DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant in the early evening on August 11.

Firefighters reportedly received the call for assistance at around 6:30 p.m. and fought the blaze well into the following morning.

Video taken during the incident shows flames in several spots on the north end of the plant’s roof, extending well to the south. There is smoke coming out of vents throughout the entire length of the facility, which has six operational units with a total capacity of 1,547 MW.

The plant invoked emergency procedures and shut down all units onsite by 7:01 p.m. DTE Energy said employees were evacuated safely and that there were no known injuries at the plant.

Firefighters from St. Clair and Marine City were first on the scene, but as many as 30 departments, including Port Huron, which is nearly 20 miles to the north, were said to have been involved in extinguishing the fire.

In a statement released at 8:26 a.m.…

THE BIG PICTURE: China’s Power Glut

July 1, 2016

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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.…