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5 August 2010
New Chinese reactor starts construction
First concrete has been poured for unit 1 of Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in Guangxi province, close tot the Vietnam border. The plant will eventually have six 1000 MWe CPR-1000 reactors, and is the first in an ethnic minority area of China. The first phase to built two reactors involves an investment of CNY 26 billion ($3.87 billion) and will promote regional development including creation of 965,000 jobs, according to Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Co. The units are expected on line in 2015-16.
WNN 3/8/10. Nuclear Power in China
IAEA reviews China's nuclear safety
The International Atomic Energy Agency has completed a thorough review of China's regulatory framework for nuclear safety. The peer review over two weeks in July was carried out at the request of Chinese authorities, and was conducted by a 22-strong team of experts from 15 different countries. The team conducted an Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission, based on the IAEA safety standards. The scope of the mission included the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety of facilities. The team said that leadership of the regulatory system expressed high-level commitment to nuclear safety and its regulation, and that the cultural environment turns such commitments into practical activities. It noted the extensive use of IAEA safety standards in the development of China's legislative framework, and said that China had in place a system "for registering a cadre of high level nuclear safety engineers." It made recommendations for improvement, and concluded that the review had provided "confidence in the effectiveness of the Chinese safety regulatory system and the future safety of the vast expanding nuclear industry" there.
WNN 2/8/10. Nuclear Power in China
USEC resubmits application for loan guarantee
Having been rebuffed by the US Department of Energy a year ago, USEC has made a "comprehensive upgrade" to its application for a $2 billion loan guarantee and resubmitted it. The company has so far spent $1.8 billion on its American Centrifuge Plant, and expects it to cost a further $2.8 billion. During the 12-month hiatus, USEC continued to manufacture a limited number of its very large centrifuges and has a cascade of about 40 now in operation at the Piketon, Ohio site. It expects to have about 65 of them in operation by the end of 2010.
WNN 5/8/10. US Nuclear Fuel Cycle
US loan guarantee for deconversion plant
The first part of a $65 million loan guarantee application by International Isotopes Inc (INIS) for a 6500 t/yr uranium deconversion and fluorine extraction plant has been approved by the US Department of Energy, and the company has been invited to submit the second part of its application. INIS wants to build the plant near Hobbs, New Mexico, to convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (the so-called 'tails' from the uranium enrichment process) into stable uranium oxide (U3O8) and fluorine feedstock for the manufacture of high-purity fluoride products. The company has an agreement to treat the HF6 tails from the nearby Urenco USA enrichment plant which began operation recently.
WNN 5/8/10. US Nuclear Fuel Cycle