NUKE NEWS CANADA

Drilling completed at first Canadian repository candidate site

30 November 2021

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has completed borehole drilling work at Ignace, which is being studied as a possible host area for a deep geological repository for Canada's used nuclear fuel. Some 6 km of rock has been retrieved during the four-year drilling programme.

NWMO has retrieved 6 km of rock cores from the Ignace area (Image: NWMO)

Drilling of the NWMO's first borehole, about 35 kilometres west of Ignace, between Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON), began in November 2017. Since then, six boreholes - each one kilometre in length - have been drilled into a rock formation known as the Revell Batholith. Completion of drilling marks a significant milestone in the geoscience work to determine whether the site can safely host the repository, NWMO said. Downhole testing will be completed over the coming months.

Boreholes are drilled using a conventional truck-mounted or skid-mounted rotary drill rig. The drilling and on-site testing process for a 1 km-deep borehole takes about 120 days.

Lise Morton, NWMO's vice-president of site selection, said the completion of drilling at Ignace is an "exciting moment" for the organisation. "A lot of work has been done, and we literally have six kilometres of borehole samples to study," she said. "The information we gather from this work will be brought together with other data as we learn about all aspects of the proposed site."

The NWMO is a non-profit organisation responsible for implementing Canada's plan for the safe, long-term storage of used nuclear fuel inside a deep geological repository in an area with informed and willing hosts. Ignace and South Bruce, both in Ontario, are being studied as possible host areas, having been narrowed down from a list of 21 interested communities through a process launched in 2010. Borehole drilling, coring and downhole testing at South Bruce began earlier this year, and drilling is anticipated to be completed in mid-2022.

Canada's plan for a deep geological repository will only proceed in an area with informed and willing hosts. Community monitors from WLON were on-site during the borehole drilling, and were an important part of the team, NWMO said, providing input on-site as well as sharing information and insights with WLON.

"As part of the NWMO's site selection process, we need to be sure that used nuclear fuel can be safely contained in the rock to ensure water, people and the environment are safe. Borehole drilling has been a big part of that," NWMO Site Director-Ignace Bill Gascon said. "We are committed to working with communities, including municipal, First Nation and Métis communities, and others in the area to safely site this project in an area with informed and willing hosts."

A tour to the Ignace borehole sites in November 2021 (Image: NWMO)

Tours to the borehole sites have been popular, NWMO said, with some 200 people, including students, residents and people from the region, taking part.

The NWMO plans to select a site in 2023. Detailed site characterisation, federal impact assessment and licensing processes would begin in 2024. A five-year strategic plan published by NWMO earlier this year anticipates construction of the repository beginning in 2033, with operations beginning between 2040 and 2045.

First contract signed for Cernavoda completion

26 November 2021

A year-long, CAD8.4 million (USD6.6 million) contract will see Canada's Candu Energy prepare the licensing basis for two new Candu pressurised heavy water reactors at Romania's Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The signing was celebrated by the governments of Romania and Canada, as well as the USA.

Cernavoda has two operational reactors, and two that are only partly constructed (Image: Nuclearelectrica)

"The potential to develop two new-build nuclear reactors demonstrates that the Romanian government, along with several other of our public sector clients around the world, recognise that safe, reliable, affordable, low-carbon nuclear energy is how we will combat and ultimately, win the battle against climate change,’’ said Ian Edwards, president and CEO of SNC-Lavalin, which owns Candu Energy. The deal was signed with EnergoNuclear, the project company set up to complete Cernavoda.

The contract was described as the first in a 24-month 'prepatory stage' towards completing the partially-built Candu-6 units Cernavoda 3 and 4, on which work stopped in 1991.

Candu Energy will update the licensing basis documents and safety design codes for Cernavoda 3 and 4 to bring them in line with the latest Canadian codes and standards as well as European Union safety directives. It will also define the engineering work needed in 'phases 2 and 3' sufficient for their real work content and complexity to be estimated.

Candu Energy will also produce a document that outlines the 'architecture options' for completing the reactor units' steam supply system, as well as the design changes needed to meet today's standards.

Lastly, Candu Energy will re-evaluate the existing buildings at the site to confirm they are fit for a proposed 60-year operational life, assuming a retubing overhaul and refurbishment that is routine for Candu units after about 30 years of service.

"I am glad and I salute the signing of the first contract which advances the development of the Candu units 3 and 4 project in Cernavoda," said Romanian Minister of Energy Virgul Popescu. "The partnership with the USA and Canada will allow our country to achieve our decarbonisation targets. This is an important step and I am very optimistic that in future we will be an energy-independent country."

On behalf of Canada, Ambassador Annick Goulet said, "Nuclear energy is an essential tool on our way to a net-zero economy. It has been a pillar for economic development in Canada since the late 1960s when the Candu nuclear reactor technology became operational. All those years, it has proven incredibly reliable and efficient. We have been happy to share this know-how with our friends and allies."

Although this contract is focused on Canadian contribution, the USA is a major partner for Romania in this project. US Charge d’Affaires in Romania David Muniz said, “The United States is working to provide Romanians with clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy while ensuring trusted partners contribute to Romania’s vital national and energy security needs."

Kathryn Huff, the US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, called the signing "a major milestone" adding that it supports the goals of the intergovernmental agreement between the USA and Romania and "continues the strong relationship between our countries in the field of nuclear energy."

In addition, Nuclearelectrica's announcement included a statement from Thomas White, the CEO of US engineering firm Sargent & Lundy, which has previously worked on Candu projects in Canada and Romania. He said, "We’re thrilled to continue our business relationship with Candu Energy and Romania," but details of the company's involvement were not immediately available.

Today's 12-month contract represents a major engineering aspect of the project's 24-month 'preparatory phase'. Nuclearelectrica said EnergoNuclear would also be contracting technical, legal and financial support during this period as well as conducting necessary studies and evaluations.

Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita noted that completion of Cernavoda 3 and 4 will bring up to 19,000 indirectly generated jobs while raising nuclear to 36% of electricity supply and 66% of Romania's clean energy total. When all four units are in operation, Cernavoda will avoid a total of 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, he said.