News Roundup on New Reactors in the New Year

• China Inks Approval for Four New Reactors
• India and Russia to Add Units to Kudankulam
• France to Build as Many as 14 New EPRs
• Indonesia National Energy Council Endorses ThorCon
• Puget Sound Energy Invests $10 million in Plan for X-Energy HTGR

China Inks Approval for Four New Reactors

(NucNet) China has approved the construction of four new nuclear power plants as it pushes ahead with ambitious plans to increase its installed reactor capacity to 70 GW by 2025, up from about 53 GW in 2023.

The State Council granted approval for Units 3 and 4 at China General Nuclear’s existing Taipingling nuclear power station in Guangdong province, southern China, and for Units 1 and 2 at China National Nuclear Corporation’s new Jinqimen nuclear power station in Zhejiang province, eastern China.

The Taipingling nuclear station will eventually have six indigenous Hualong One, or HPR1000 pressurized water reactor plants. The construction of the first and second units began in 2019 and 2020 with Unit 1 scheduled to start up in 2025 and Unit 2 in 2026.

In July, China’s State Council approved six new nuclear units to expand three existing stations in Shandong province, Fujian province and Liaoning province.

The state-run China Daily said the six approved units were units 5 and 6 of the Ningde nuclear station in Fujian province, southeast China; units 1 and 2 of the Shidao Bay station, also known as Shidaowan, in Shandong province, eastern China; and units 1 and 2 of the Xudabu (also Xudapu or Xudabao) station in Liaoning province, northeast China.

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India and Russia to Add Units to Kudankulam

The Hindu newspaper reported that Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced an agreement with Rosatom to increase the total build out for the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu will be six 1,000 MWe VVER PWR type nuclear reactors.

The first two units have been in revenue service since 2016. Units #3 & #4 are under construction. Work on units #5 & 6 is also underway with completion of all units by 2027. A roadmaps for expansion envisions but does not fund an additional two reactors.

The Hindustan Times reported India and Russia had also discussed cooperation in the field of small modular reactors (SMRs). According to the newspaper, Moscow is ready to share technologies for developing a SMR with a capacity of 75-300 MWe. Russia is reconfiguring the small reactors that power its arctic icebreakers, which run on HEU, to operate as LWRs using conventional LEU. It has plans for using them to power remote mining operations in Siberia. So far, it has not built any for export to support commercial power uses.

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France to Build as Many as 14 New EPRs

The Le Monde newspaper reported in French that Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said France will have to go “beyond the first six EPRs.” She said an additional eight EPRs are now part of the government’s program.

“We need nuclear power beyond the first six EPRs since the fleet historic will not be eternal”

Reuters reported that the new plants are to be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF with tens of billions of euros in public money mobilized to finance the projects and safeguard EDF’s finances.

The minister also added that the government is planning to expand its capacity to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from light water reactors to make mixed oxide fuel (MOX). The fuel replaces the 5% of U235 in the original full with an equivalent amount of PU-239. About 17% of France’s electricity is from recycled nuclear fuel.

France’s nuclear fleet will begin to age out in the 2030s and 2040s. In 2023 French President Macron extended the lifespan of existing nuclear plants to more than 50 years from 40 years for certain reactors. His decision marked a U-turn on a pledge by his predecessors to close more than a dozen of EDF’s 56 reactors by 2035.

According to the World Nuclear Association, France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. In February 2022. The country currently has 56 operating nuclear reactors generating 61.4 MWe.

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Indonesia National Energy Council Endorses ThorCon

Indonesia National Energy Council and ThorCon Power Indonesia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the council office in Jakarta. The event was attended by several government ministries including the nuclear regulator BAPETEN and staff from the US Embassy.

Secretary General of the National Energy Council, Djoko Siswanto, said “The purpose of this memorandum of understanding is that the National Energy Council strongly supports the development of the first nuclear plant in Indonesia.”

The council will submit a proposal to the Government of Indonesia recommending that the ThorCon 500 molten salt reactor be Indonesia’s first nuclear power plant.

Djoko Siswanto continued, “only PT ThorCon Power Indonesia has made progress, starting from site study reports, lab results to public acceptance.”

The MOU calls for review of existing regulations and proposals for legal foundation in Indonesia’s Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) and Nuclear Power Plan based on ThorCon 500. Further studies will identify regions and sites in Indonesia suitable for the second ThorCon 500.

Natio Lasman of the National Energy Council said “If we carefully observe, nuclear energy is highly needed. There is not a single prosperous country without nuclear energy. With this collaboration, hopefully, this marks the beginning of ThorCon, so that nuclear energy is not only theoretical but also practical in Indonesia.”

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Puget Sound Energy Invests $10 million in Plan for X-Energy HTGR

(WNN) Puget Sound Energy – the oldest and largest utility in Washington State – is contributing $10 million towards the feasibility stage of Energy Northwest’s program to develop and deploy a next-generation nuclear energy facility. Energy Northwest previously agreed to deploy one of X-Energy’s 80 MW HTGRs at a site near the Columbia Generating Station.

The $10 million that Puget Sound Energy has agreed to invest in the program will supplement $10 million contributed to date by Energy Northwest and supporting entities, which includes nearly $1 million of combined investment from 17 other public utilities.

The agreement, a $10 million investment by Puget Sound Energy in Energy Northwest’s new nuclear project feasibility phase, will guide future participation and investment decisions. This collaboration does not obligate Puget Sound Energy to any future financial commitment nor signify an ownership interest in a developed project.

Energy Northwest said in a press statement on its website , “For over two years Energy Northwest thoroughly investigated numerous emerging nuclear energy technologies, arriving at the determination X-energy’s advanced small modular reactor – known as the Xe-100 – is the design best tailored to the region’s specific needs. The ongoing analysis of project structures, schedules, and overall viability will inform future project investments and ultimately the prudency of a final investment decision.”

The Xe-100 SMR is an 80 MWe high-temperature gas cooled reactor which uses TRISO (tristructural isotropic) particle fuel. A joint development agreement signed in July between Energy Northwest and X-Energy Reactor Company envisages the deployment of up to 12 Xe-100 units at a site adjacent to the existing Columbia nuclear power plant, with the first module expected to be online by 2030.

Energy Northwest is a joint operating agency set up by the state legislature in 1957, with 28 public power member utilities serving more than 1.5 million customers. It owns and operates the region’s only nuclear power plant, the Columbia Generating Station, as well as solar, hydroelectric and wind generating facilities and a battery energy storage system. Puget Sound Energy owns over 3500 MWe of generating capacity, including hydroelectric, wind and thermal plants.

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