Released October 05, 2010 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Six months after it was shut down due to safety concerns, the Sizewell B nuclear power plant, which is on the Suffolk coast in southeast England, has been brought back into service.
The U.K's only commercial pressurised water reactor (PWR) power plant was taken offline in March when some heaters in the pressurizer leaked, resulting in higher-than-normal moisture levels. Owned and operated by EDF Energy, the U.K. arm of French utility Electricite de France S.A. (EPA:EDF) (Paris), Sizewell B has been out of action since March 16 but was brought back online on September 30. The plant is the last nuclear power plant to be built in the U.K. and has a generating capacity of 1,188 megawatts (MW).
In related news, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Nuclear Directorate has recommended that Reactor 2 at the Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Angelsey in North Wales be allowed to restart after its scheduled outage, which commenced in April this year.
In March, a small leak of less than five litres per minute was detected at Sizewell B and, after investigation, was traced to the bottom of the pressurizer, which contains 78 electric heaters in tubes, which are installed through the main body of the pressurizer. EDF Energy took video footage of the pressurizer to allow engineers to examine it in great detail. A repair strategy was first tested on a 16-by-2.5 metre replica of the equipment before being successfully completed.
A new model of heater, which EDF has spent five years redesigning for the reactors in its French nuclear plants, has been installed.
"Working within the EDF family of companies, we have been able to draw on international expertise throughout this project," said Jim Crawford, the Sizewell B station director. "This has given us access to industry experts who, working closely with our local team, have been instrumental in bringing Sizewell B back to service."
The HSE Nuclear Directorate has given its consent for the power station to restart, and stated in its report: "HSE Nuclear Directorate has sufficient confidence that the modifications to the pressuriser have been adequately conceived and executed and that the Sizewell B reactor is safe to operate."
In the case of Wylfa Reactor 2, one of two 490-MW Magnox nuclear reactors at the site, the permission to restart is good news for the owner, Magnox North (Warrington, England). However, the 980-MW facility is due for decommissioning from December this year unless the company can secure a two-year extension until 2012 from the HSE Nuclear Directorate. For additional information, see April 13, 2009, article - U.K.'s Wylfa Nuclear Power Plant Gets Decommissioning Green Light.
The company is pushing for a decision this month. "I am feeling very positive about getting the extension," said site director Nick Gore. "We are due to shut down on December 31, and I'm working with the NII and HSE to ask for an early decision. We are pushing for a decision to be made in October, and the expectation is positive."
In August, new nuclear operator Horizon Nuclear Power (Gloucester, England), a joint venture between the U.K. subsidiaries of German energy majors RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), awarded preliminary work contracts for the planned nuclear plant, at a site adjacent to the existing plant. For additional information, see August 4, 2010, article - Preliminary Work Begins on U.K. Nuclear Plant.
View Plant Profile - 1078215 1078414
View Project Report - 200006089
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The U.K's only commercial pressurised water reactor (PWR) power plant was taken offline in March when some heaters in the pressurizer leaked, resulting in higher-than-normal moisture levels. Owned and operated by EDF Energy, the U.K. arm of French utility Electricite de France S.A. (EPA:EDF) (Paris), Sizewell B has been out of action since March 16 but was brought back online on September 30. The plant is the last nuclear power plant to be built in the U.K. and has a generating capacity of 1,188 megawatts (MW).
In related news, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Nuclear Directorate has recommended that Reactor 2 at the Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Angelsey in North Wales be allowed to restart after its scheduled outage, which commenced in April this year.
In March, a small leak of less than five litres per minute was detected at Sizewell B and, after investigation, was traced to the bottom of the pressurizer, which contains 78 electric heaters in tubes, which are installed through the main body of the pressurizer. EDF Energy took video footage of the pressurizer to allow engineers to examine it in great detail. A repair strategy was first tested on a 16-by-2.5 metre replica of the equipment before being successfully completed.
A new model of heater, which EDF has spent five years redesigning for the reactors in its French nuclear plants, has been installed.
"Working within the EDF family of companies, we have been able to draw on international expertise throughout this project," said Jim Crawford, the Sizewell B station director. "This has given us access to industry experts who, working closely with our local team, have been instrumental in bringing Sizewell B back to service."
The HSE Nuclear Directorate has given its consent for the power station to restart, and stated in its report: "HSE Nuclear Directorate has sufficient confidence that the modifications to the pressuriser have been adequately conceived and executed and that the Sizewell B reactor is safe to operate."
In the case of Wylfa Reactor 2, one of two 490-MW Magnox nuclear reactors at the site, the permission to restart is good news for the owner, Magnox North (Warrington, England). However, the 980-MW facility is due for decommissioning from December this year unless the company can secure a two-year extension until 2012 from the HSE Nuclear Directorate. For additional information, see April 13, 2009, article - U.K.'s Wylfa Nuclear Power Plant Gets Decommissioning Green Light.
The company is pushing for a decision this month. "I am feeling very positive about getting the extension," said site director Nick Gore. "We are due to shut down on December 31, and I'm working with the NII and HSE to ask for an early decision. We are pushing for a decision to be made in October, and the expectation is positive."
In August, new nuclear operator Horizon Nuclear Power (Gloucester, England), a joint venture between the U.K. subsidiaries of German energy majors RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), awarded preliminary work contracts for the planned nuclear plant, at a site adjacent to the existing plant. For additional information, see August 4, 2010, article - Preliminary Work Begins on U.K. Nuclear Plant.
View Plant Profile - 1078215 1078414
View Project Report - 200006089
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
