Westinghouse Electric Co has been selected by Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel in Sweden to provide replacement nuclear fuel deliveries and engineering services for three of its reactors.

The contract is for yearly deliveries between 2016 and 2019 to Forsmark 3, Ringhals 3 and Ringhals 4 (pictured)

The contract includes yearly deliveries of fuel for the threereactors during a four-year period (2016 to 2019).

Johan Hallén, Westinghouse vice-president and managing director for northern Europe, said. “The market for nuclear fuel assemblies is very competitive with suppliers from Germany, the US, Korea, Japan and Spain providing finished fuel to similar reactors. Vattenfall’s commitment to Swedish engineering and manufacturing helps Westinghouse compete on a global scale, ensuring a strong domestic industry employing thousands in Sweden.”

Forsmark 3 is a boiling water reactor designed and built by ASEA-ATOM, which was acquired by Westinghouse in 2000. Ringhals 3 and 4 both are pressurized water reactors, designed and built by Westinghouse.

GE is attempting to explore other avenues in order to facilitate a final deal on Alstom and is in early-stage talks with nuclear-plant maker Areva SA (AREVA) and other French companies about asset sales or partnerships.

That’s according to a report in Bloomberg, which quotes unnamed insiders close to the negotiations as saying that the management at GE are potentially looking at selling some assets in order to win over the French government.

The US company is exploring concessions, including entering ventures in areas from nuclear power to wind-turbines to rail signalling, while it seeks clarification on what would appease the state, they said.

French companies have been contacting GE in anticipation of the government asking for asset sales or partnerships before approving the deal, though GE would prefer not to sell anything, a person said.

GE chief executive Jeff Immelt wrote to President Hollande pledging readiness to work with the state, Areva and EDF to protect the nuclear sector and preserve France’s exports. He also said GE would study potential French bids for Alstom (Euronext: ALO) onshore and offshore wind business, and welcome local investors in the capital of Alstom’s unit that makes turbines for dams.

Meanwhile Siemens AG (SIE) is weighing a possible counterbid for Alstom’s thermal, renewables and grid operations, which make and service products from gas turbines to power transmission equipment. The Germany-based company may decide as early as this week on an improved offer, having examined Alstom’s books. They are also said to be lining up a more attractive offer than initially made.

Areva, the world’s biggest reactor-fuel supplier, may be at the centre of any resolution for GE. For Areva, which is merging its unprofitable offshore wind turbine business with Spain’s Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA to share costs, buying Alstom’s offshore wind business would eliminate a rival that was selected by Electricite de France SA for a 2 billion-euro ($2.7 billion) contract to supply three wind farms in the country.

If that deal goes through Areva may opt to halt development of Alstom’s 6 MW offshore wind turbine, which has no gearbox, in parallel with its own 5-MW and 8 MW turbines using a gearbox to increase rotation speed and yield. That would also have an impact on plants and supply chains that Areva and Alstom both have pledged to build in France to win offshore wind tenders held by the state.

The government, EDF and Areva want to make sure that GE will continue to provide adequate maintenance services for Alstom’s steam turbines used in the non-nuclear part of France’s 58 atomic reactors, people familiar with the matter said. They also want to make sure that GE won’t block export of these turbines when French nuclear companies team up to bid for tenders abroad, they said.

Montebourg is pushing GE to sell its locomotive division to Alstom to strengthen the French company’s transport business, but insiders say the US company will not be prepared to go to those lengths to win the bid.

The deadline for the 1,000-MW Unit 1 at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant has been extended to July 22, set by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.

Nuclear Power Corp filed a petition to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), for permission to inject ‘infirm power’ into the grid from the first unit up to the date of commercial operation, according to the Press Trust of India.

The synchronization for Unit 1 was carried out on October 22, 2013 but commercial operation has yet to be declared.

Phase C1 and Phase C2 commissioning tests were completed on January 3 and April 5, while Phase C3 was slated to start April 25.

Phase C3 commissioning tests include reactor, turbine-generator, secondary feed water system, control systems and full load rejection tests, CERC said.

The 2,000-MW Kudankulam project, located in Tamil Nadu, is being set up with the technical cooperation of Russia.

New Hampshire — Does nuclear energy deserve a seat at the table alongside renewable energy technologies in weaning us off of fossil fuels and transitioning into a cleaner energy world? A new report published yesterday suggests not only will newer small modular reactor (SMR) technology be at least as expensive as larger reactors, it won’t fit the needs of a more flexible grid system, and its development will siphon away funding from the truly renewable energy options that need it.

The Irish minister for energy says his government will accept submissions from the public on how the country’s future energy needs will be met and included the prospect of nuclear power in that energy mix.

The Green Paper on Energy says it would be “technically possible” to construct a small nuclear reactor to replace the coal-burning Moneypoint plant in Co Clare, western Ireland, which is expected to close in 2025.The Irish Independent reports that energy ministerPat Rabbitte said that while he did not propose lifting the ban on nuclear power, he would not rule out the possibility of proposals being made for that source of power generation.

“There’s a legal ban on nuclear development and I don’t propose to remove it. But this is a green paper, and I’m not dictating the response of business and citizens as to what ought to be the best energy mix for the future. If people want to make submissions on any aspect, they should be encouraged to do so,” he said.

UK nuclear power may become a “small but increasing element” of the fuel mix, the policy paper says.

It adds that a large nuclear plant will “unbalance the system”, but that the technology is changing with reactors becoming smaller.

“When fourth-generation nuclear reactors become commercially available, it is technically possible that smaller reactors could be accommodated on the Irish grid,” it says.

“Given that Moneypoint will approach the end of its life by 2025, is there a role for coal in the future power generation mix? If coal generation does not continue at Moneypoint, what are the alternatives? Should options such as biomass or nuclear power be considered?

“In light of considerations on the future of the Moneypoint coal plant, it may be questioned whether the time is right to consider in greater depth the potential economic and technical implications, or indeed to test public acceptance of nuclear generation located on the island of Ireland,” he said.

Ireland currently spend €6bn importing oil and gas to produce electricity, heat homes and power transport fleets, but renewables are playing an increasing role in providing power.

“It is a simple fact of life that the thrust of EU policy is towards greater interconnection, and you bring down prices to consumers and businesses by better interconnection,” he said, adding we needed to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and develop indigenous sources of power. There was no “single answer” in developing the ideal energy mix.

NEW DELHI, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – Experts working on the construction of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant being built with Russian assistance have brought the first reactor unit to 90 percent of its capacity, a source in the industry told RIA Novosti Tuesday.

“The first power unit has been brought to 90 percent capacity. It currently generates 900 megawatts for the utility grid of southern India. All systems are working fine,” a source said.

“Inspection of the machinery and block systems is underway. After the necessary permissions are received from the Indian regulatory authority, the unit will be brought to the full capacity,” the source added.

Kudankulam’s first power unit was launched last July and was connected to the country’s power grid in October. Synchronization of the unit was completed successfully. All systems proved to be functioning effectively and specialists are currently working on the phase-by-phase installation. In January, the unit was brought to 75 percent of its capacity.

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being constructed with Russian technical assistance under intergovernmental agreements signed in 1988 and expanded in 1998. The sides are now completing preparations for the second phase of the project. Kudankulam is currently the most up-to-date nuclear plant in the world and the most powerful in India.

Under the agreement, that is expected to help create 14,000 jobs, Toshiba-owned Westinghouse Electric Company will supply three AP1000 nuclear reactors to a new nuclear facility at Moorside, near the Sellafield site in Cumbria.

Earlier this month, plans for a new nuclear power station were given a boost when Toshiba agreed a £102m deal to buy a majority stake in the project to build the three reactors.

Prime Minister Cameron said: “Today, we can announce the huge investment being made by Toshiba and Westinghouse, over £200 million, into the rebuilding of the British nuclear industry, specifically in the north west of our country in a project that could provide as many as 14,000 jobs during the construction phase and thousands of jobs ongoing as well as providing low carbon base-load electricity for Britain.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe, who is currently on a tour of Europe that will see him visiting Germany, Portugal, Spain and France, commented: “I strongly hope that the strong bond and ties between the Japanese economy and the British economy will further be promoted.”

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “This is an important step forward in the plans for a new nuclear power station at Moorside – a plant that will generate enough clean electricity to power around six million homes.

“The new nuclear programme is a core part of our drive to build a new, clean energy sector in Britain to tackle climate change at the same time as we deal with a legacy of under-investment in Britain’s energy sector, and ensure we remain among the most energy secure countries in the world.”

During talks held at 10 Downing Street, the two prime ministers also agreed on a deal that would pave the way for British companies to win lucrative contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

It is believed the agreement fostering economic links between the two countries could bring millions to the UK economy.

Trade minister Lord Livingston said: “I am delighted that Japan has signalled that it wants to use UK expertise to help deliver both the Tokyo Olympics and Rugby World Cup. The delivery of London 2012 on time and under budget has shown the world that the UK has a significant amount of expertise in staging large-scale events.”

Westinghouse Electric has secured a contract from Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) to supply new traversing incore probe (TIP) systems for two boiling water reactors (BWR) at Olkiluoto, Finland.

These systems are installed to calibrate the nuclear reactor power measurement.

Pursuant to the contract terms, Westinghouse subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Sweden will handle the overall project and perform the mechanical/electrical installation and commissioning. Westinghouse Electric and Toshiba Corporation will jointly implement the project.

Most of the equipment will be manufactured and assembled in Japan and a factory acceptance test is likely to be conducted in December 2015.

Delivery of the equipment is scheduled for January 2016, while the installation is scheduled during planned outages at Unit 1 in 2016 and Unit 2 in 2017.

In addition to this, the project also requires the manufacture and installation of 28 new guide tubes and the provision of electrical installation and instrument and control (I&C) cubicles for control and measuring.

The TIP systems calibrate incore neutron flux detectors in the Olkiluoto 1 and 2 nuclear reactors.

Together with data from incore neutron flux detectors, the TIP data is used by the process computer to analyse the power distribution within the reactor core and determine whether thermal limits are being satisfied, Westinghouse Electric said.

Westinghouse Electric vice-president and managing director for Northern Europe Johan Hallén said that the agreement reflects TVO’s assurance in the quality and reliability that Westinghouse and Toshiba together can bring to TVO.

Westinghouse Electric has installed a fully passive containment filtered venting system (PCFVS) at the Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško nuclear power plant in Slovenia.

The upgrade to the nuclear plant will increase safety in the event of a severe nuclear accident.

The Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration has made a compulsion of such upgrades following the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Installation of PCFVS was completed in 15 months, and the Krško plant is the first in Europe to set up a passive system for reducing the impact of a nuclear accident, Westinghouse said.

The venting system consists primarily of five aerosol filters inside containment, and an iodine filter inside the auxiliary building and various auxiliary components (such as valves and rupture disks) to ensure its fully passive operation during more than 72 hours.

Westinghouse said that the design and installation of the system allows the power plant to depend on a compact and modular dry metal fiber filter to capture the aerosols instead of using a large water tank.

This approach has allowed significant flexibility on where the filter can be installed, and at Krško, part of the filter was installed in the containment building.

The filters’ factory acceptance tests have positively surpassed levels required by regulatory authorities and by Krško.

PCFVS was installed for the components located inside auxiliary building, including the new plant stack anchored on the reactor building.

Installation of the equipment inside the reactor building, including closing of the containment penetration, did not impact the outage’s critical path.

Westinghouse vice-president and managing director southern Europe Javier González said that the customers clearly recognise the cost and technology advantage of its dry-filtered method of containment venting as the company is under contract for seven other units around the world.

“Since the design is modular, lead times can be much less than for other systems that require the construction of additional buildings,” González said.

Fennovoima has submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report to the Finland Ministry of Employment and the Economy for its Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Pyhajoki..

The EIA report, which was submitted on 13 February 2014, shows that construction of the new 1,200MW nuclear power plant is feasible. During the EIA procedure, the company has assessed impacts of the construction and operation of the new power plant on environment and people.

Comparing the environmental impacts of a 1,800MW nuclear power plant assessed in 2008, this new EIA report shows that the environmental impacts to the water systems, fishery and nature conservation areas are slightly smaller for the new 1,200MW power plant.

The EIA report, which was drawn up according to the Finnish EIA legislation requirements, has been prepared based on the utilisation of studies and surveys of the 2008 EIA report and the present environmental data.

In addition to this, resident survey and group interviews have been carried out in addition to the modelling of cooling water and noise spreading.

In the report, the statement of the coordinating authority regarding the EIA program has also been taken into account.

Completion of the EIA procedure will be based on the issuance of the ministry’s statement on the EIA report.

In December 2013, Fennovoima and Rusatom Overseas signed a contract to supply a pressurised water reactor AES-2006 for the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant. Complying with the latest Finnish safety requirements, the new power plant is expected to come online in 2024.