France’s president Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to relaunch the country’s commercial nuclear programme with the construction of at least six new nuclear power reactors – and the possibility of eight more for a total of 14 – if he is reelected in elections in two months.
The UK’s nuclear regulators have confirmed that the UK Hualong pressurised water reactor, or UK HPR1000, is suitable for construction in the UK, paving the way for the indigenous Chinese nuclear plant to be potentially used at the planned Bradwell B site in Essex. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency said they had completed an in-depth assessment of the nuclear reactor design and approved it subject to licensing, planning permission and environmental permits. The UK HPR1000 is based on the Hualong One power plant, designed by China General Nuclear Group (CGN).
Brazilian state-run power company Eletrobras has signed a contract to restart the Angra-3 nuclear power plant project in Rio de Janeiro state. According to a securities filing, the contract was signed between the company’s Eletronuclear subsidiary and a consortium formed by Ferreira Guedes, Matricial and ADtranz.
First concrete has been poured for the Tianwan-8 nuclear power plant in Jiangsu province, east China, marking the start of construction for the new-build project, Russian state-nuclear corporation Rosatom said. The announcement means China now has 15 nuclear reactors under construction. It has 51 in commercial operation, providing a 4.9% share of its electricity generation.
Unit 3 of the Kanupp nuclear power station in the Sindh region of southern Pakistan has reached first criticality, becoming the fourth Hualong One reactor – and only the second outside China – to reach that milestone. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said in a statement that Kanupp-3, also known as Karachi-3, achieved criticality for the first time at midnight on 21 February, meaning it is now “able to operate with power and laying a solid foundation for future connection to the grid and power generation”. Kanupp-3 is the second of China’s indigenous Generation III HPR1000, or Hualong One, reactor design to be built overseas. Construction of the 1,014-MW plant began in May 2016.
Source: NucNet | The Independent Nuclear News Agency