Ontario explores potential new generation sites
The provincial government has told Ontario Power Generation to begin discussions to determine community support for all types of new energy generation, including nuclear, at three sites in the southern part of the province.
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Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator has said the province's demand for electricity is forecast to increase by 75% by 2050 - the equivalent of adding four and a half cities the size of Toronto to the grid, the Government of Ontario said. The increase in demand is being driven by Ontario's rapid increase in population, new manufacturing facilities, advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence data centres, the electrification of industry, and the charging energy required for electric vehicles.
"While the province is already on track to meet demands through 2035 with major projects already announced, including Canada's first small modular reactor and the largest competitive energy procurement in Ontario's history, the province will need 16,000 additional megawatts of generation, in addition to new transmission to meet demand in 2050," the government added.
Early community engagement is a critical part of the province's approach to new energy generation. These "early conversations" ( will look at how communities would be supported and potential benefits to them from generation projects, including equity participation for Indigenous communities, funding for municipal host communities to support community infrastructure investments and attraction of co-located industry, additional income from municipal property taxes, and associated jobs and economic development for municipalities and Indigenous communities.
The three sites owned by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) - already Ontario's largest generator - that have been singled out by the government for discussions with Indigenous, community and municipal leaders are at Wesleyville in Port Hope, Nanticoke in Haldimand County and Lambton in St Clair. These sites are already zoned for electricity generation, have proximity to transmission, and are located in Southern Ontario, within regions experiencing significant growth, according to the provincial government.
"As we prepare for the largest expansion of electricity generation in over 30 years, our government is embracing an important opportunity for economic reconciliation among First Nations communities and workers," Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation Greg Rickford said. "By working together with Ontario Power Generation, we are ensuring that First Nations communities are not just part of the conversation, but active participants in shaping a prosperous, sustainable energy future."
OPG President and CEO Ken Hartwick said the company places "great importance" on relationships with host communities, neighbours, and the Indigenous Nations on whose traditional territory it operates. "We look forward to meeting with municipalities and Nations to understand their perspectives and aspirations for their communities," he said.
Clean and reliable baseload electricity from nuclear and hydroelectricity are prioritised in the government's vision document, Ontario's Affordable Energy Future, released in October. The provincial government is already supporting Bruce Power in pre-development work on the province's first large-scale nuclear build in 30 years, as well as OPG's plans for four small modular reactors at its Darlington site and the refurbishment of the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station, as part of what Minister of Energy and Electrification Stephen Lecce said is Ontario's largest expansion of electricity generation in more than thirty years. "To meet soaring energy demands, we're working with communities to plan ahead and build for our future so that we can generate more power that is reliable and affordable for our families today and tomorrow. Our plan will ensure we keep energy bills down and the power on for generations to come," he said.
About the sites
According to information from OPG, the three sites are already zoned for electricity generation, have proximity to transmission, and are located in Southern Ontario within regions where a lot of growth is taking place.
Wesleyville (Port Hope) covers about 1300 acres, adjacent to Durham Region which hosts Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating stations
Nanticoke (Haldimand County) is a former coal generating site, part of which is currently used for a solar facility. It has existing transmission connection with capacity, railway, and dock
Lambton (St Clair Township) is a former coal generating site with access to railway and deepwater dock, and the potential to re-use some existing site features from previous generation
OPG says it is "in the early stages of understanding each community’s willingness to explore energy development in their community or territory". Projects will only be explored if they have a willing host community and Indigenous participation.
South Africa 'committed to new nuclear and PBMR'
The South African government remains committed to the use of nuclear energy and is planning to revive its Pebble Bed Modular Reactor programme and embark on new builds, the Deputy Director General of the Department for Mineral Resources and Energy has said.
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Zizamele Mbambo was speaking at Stand Up4Nuclear South Africa, a joint event held by DMRE in collaboration with Kouga Local Municipality, South African Young Nuclear Professional Society and Women in Nuclear South Africa on 29 November. The event, billed by the Africa4Nuclear group as a chance for school learners and community members to learn about the role of nuclear energy in shaping South Africa’s sustainable future, took place in Jeffreys Bay, in Eastern Cape: the region has previously been earmarked for potential nuclear new-build at Thyspunt.
The South African government is in the process of updating its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP): the DMRE published the Draft IRP2023 in December last year for public comment, and has been working to address the "high interest" the draft has received. "This week as we gather here, the department has been meeting with interested parties to present the updated IRP2023 version," Mbambo said. "In parallel the minister is in the process of establishing an Industry Expert Team to advise on the Nuclear New Build Programme following the withdrawal of Section 34 Determination," he added, referring to the decision in August to withdraw a Ministerial Determination for the procurement of 2500 MWe of new nuclear capacity to allow for further public consultation.
Nuclear energy remains key to South Africa’s low carbon pathway by 2050, Mbambo said, and its role is made "more pertinent" given the planned decommissioning of a significant amount of coal-fired baseload capacity post-2030. "Nuclear power will complement the massive rollout of intermittent renewables to ensure a reliable low carbon electricity supply as well as ensure the grid stability," he said.
"As a government we maintain that all low-carbon energy sources will be key to realise a just energy transition, this includes nuclear energy," he said.
"There is a global growth in the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Our most ambitious project yet is to promote the use of nuclear power as a critical tool in mitigating climate change through new nuclear builds and Small Modular Reactors in the country. South Africa is currently looking to revitalise our nuclear programme to provide energy security and grid stability through clean, dependable energy. The world once acknowledged our Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Programme (PBMR) as a global first, and we aim to restore our position as a leader in nuclear energy research by bringing to market a working prototype SMR, with supporting fuel production, that can be successfully commercialised. The Department will soon recommend that Cabinet approve the lifting the state of Care and Maintenance on the PBMR to revive this programme in South Africa to create jobs and contribute to the economy," he said.
The PBMR was to have been a small-scale high-temperature reactor using graphite-coated spherical uranium oxycarbide tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, with helium as the coolant, able to supply process heat as well as generating electricity. Based on well-proved German technology, South Africa had been working on the PBMR project since 1993, and PBMR Ltd was established in 1999 with the intention of developing and marketing the reactor. However, in 2010 the government formally announced its decision no longer to invest in the project, which was then placed under care and maintenance. PBMR Ltd was reincorporated into South African utility Eskom, its sole shareholder, in 2012. In 2020, the company said it was seeking to take PBMR out of care and maintenance and commercialise the business, and issued a request for expressions of interest from would-be investors. South Africa's Stratek Global is also developing the HTMR-100 high temperature modular reactor which is derived from the PBMR programme.
"Electricity is a basic need. Electricity is one of the core elements of a decent standard of living. To this, the National Development Plan 2030 envisioned a future where all South Africans will have access to clean and reliable supply of electricity," Mbambo said, referring to the country's long-term plan to reduce inequality and unemployment, and to eliminate poverty for all South Africans.
"I am here reminding all of us of government policy imperatives that as the Ministry and custodian of Nuclear Industry, our endeavours are not taken in isolation, that its integrated effort to realise the ideals of NDP and the role of nuclear in realising those ambitions."
Long-term safety at Dutch plant assessed
An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has completed a review of long-term operational safety for the Borssele nuclear power plant in the Netherlands.
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The 485 MWe (net) pressurised water reactor at Borssele - operated by EPZ - has been in operation since 1973 and accounts for about 3% of the country's total electricity generation. It is scheduled to close in 2033, but the government has requested it remain in operation until 2054, if this can be done safely.
A Safety Aspects of Long-Term Operation (SALTO) peer review is a comprehensive safety review addressing strategy and key elements for the safe long-term operation (LTO) of nuclear power plants. SALTO missions complement IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions which are designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. SALTO peer reviews can be carried out at any time during the lifetime of a nuclear power plant, though according to the IAEA the most suitable time lies within the last 10 years of the plant's originally foreseen operating period. SALTO and OSART reviews are carried out at the request of the IAEA Member State in which the review is to take place.
A Pre-SALTO mission reviews ageing management for safe LTO at an early stage of the preparation prior to the complete implementation of the ageing management activities.
The Pre-SALTO review mission was requested by the country's Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS). During the ten-day mission, held from 19 to 28 November, the team reviewed the plant's preparedness, organisation and programmes for safe LTO.
The team identified two good practices that will be shared with the nuclear industry globally, including: use of a 360 degree imaging system for enhanced planning of ageing management activities to reduce radiation dose to plant personnel; and use of a portable tablet for field inspectors to conduct ageing management inspections of civil structures and record findings.
The team also provided 15 recommendations and suggestions to further improve safe subsequent LTO, including that: the plant should complete the development and implementation of the ageing management programmes for mechanical and electrical components; the plant should enhance the ageing management of civil structures; and the plant should effectively update and implement the human resources strategy to support LTO.
"The team observed that EPZ is preparing for safe continued long-term operation and the plant staff are cooperative, professional, and open to suggestions for improvement," said team leader and IAEA Senior Nuclear Safety Officer Gabor Petofi. "We encourage the plant to address the review findings and implement the remaining LTO-related activities as planned."
EPZ CEO Carlo Wolters said: "We appreciate the IAEA's support to our plant in ageing management and preparation for safe subsequent LTO. It is very important for us to get an external view of our preparations in an early phase. The competencies and experience of the IAEA team enabled an effective identification of our areas for improvements. The results of this mission will help us to improve our activities for safe subsequent LTO and to further align them with IAEA safety standards."
A draft report has been provided to plant management and ANVS. They have the opportunity to make factual comments on the draft, with the final report to be submitted to them and the Dutch government within three months.
Newcleo submits SMR design for UK assessment
France-headquartered innovative reactor developer Newcleo has submitted an application to the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for approval to enter the Generic Design Assessment for its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor.
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Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is a process carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA) - and where applicable Natural Resources Wales - to assess the safety, security, and environmental protection aspects of a nuclear power plant design that is intended to be deployed in Great Britain. Successful completion of the GDA culminates in the issue of a Design Acceptance Confirmation from the ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability from the EA. In May 2021, BEIS opened the GDA process to advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs).
Newcleo has now applied for a GDA of its commercial-scale 200 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR). It said it aims to complete a two-step GDA with the ONR and EA, including a fundamental assessment of its technology by the regulators. Subject to acceptance by the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the GDA would take around two years, starting in early 2025.
"This application reflects the immense progress that Newcleo Group has made both in the growth of their global capability as well as the advancement of their research, development, and design activities," the company said. It noted that it becomes the only advanced modular reactor developer to submit applications for both GDA and Regulatory Justification Decision in the UK.
In April this year, the Nuclear Industry Association applied to the UK government for a justification decision for Newcleo's LFR-AS-200. Such a decision is required for the operation of a new nuclear technology in the country.
The first step of Paris-headquartered Newcleo's delivery roadmap will be the design and construction of the first-of-a-kind 30 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor to be deployed in France by 2030, followed by a 200 MWe commercial unit in the UK by 2033.
At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.
In October, the European Commission selected nine small modular reactor projects - including Newcleo's LFR - in the initial round of applications to form Project Working Groups under the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs.
"We are delighted to be able to proceed with this next step of Newcleo’s journey in the UK," said Newcleo CEO Stefano Buono. "Thanks to our growth as a global team, our lead-cooled fast reactor design has reached new levels of maturity, as has our confidence in the continued development and refinement of our technologies.
"New nuclear technologies have an immense potential to play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the UK's energy mix as well its energy security, and we are excited to demonstrate what Newcleo can bring to this challenge. We look forward to the prospect of working with the relevant authorities and regulators throughout the GDA process."
Stéphane Calpena, global licensing and nuclear safety director at Newcleo, added: "This GDA submission in the UK follows 18 months of intensive technical discussions with the French regulator and international experts about the Newcleo LFR design, the MOX manufacturing plant design along with their related safety options. These moves in the UK and France reflects our continued commitment to deployment in France, in the UK, as well as our interest in sharing our technology and its advantages elsewhere across Europe."
Generic Design Assessments have previously been completed for the EDF/Areva UK EPR, the Westinghouse AP1000, the Hitachi-GE UK ABWR and the CGN/EDF/GNI UK HPR1000 designs. A GDA assessment is currently ongoing for Rolls-Royce SMR Limited's small modular reactor design, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 and Holtec International's SMR-300. In August, Westinghouse's AP300 was accepted for a GDA review.
Orano contracted to make MOX fuel for Japanese reactors
France's Orano has signed two mixed-oxide fuel manufacturing contracts with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for a total of 64 MOX fuel assemblies for use in two Japanese nuclear power reactors.
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On 18 November, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced it had received an order from Kyushu Electric Power Company to supply 40 MOX fuel assemblies for unit 3 of its Genkai nuclear power plant. On 29 November, it received an order from Shikoku Electric Power Company to supply 24 MOX (mixed-oxide) fuel assemblies for unit 3 of its Ikata plant.
Under both these contracts, MHI will perform design of MOX fuel, and have components such as cladding tubes manufactured by Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel Co - part of the MHI Group - supplied to Orano, who will fabricate the MOX fuel assemblies at its Melox plant in France.
Announcing its contract with MHI, Shikoku said it reached an agreement earlier this year with Tohoku Electric Power Company, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Chubu Electric Power Company, Hokuriku Electric Power Company and Japan Atomic Power Company to transfer ownership of the plutonium it held in the UK for an equal amount of plutonium held by another power company in France. It is this plutonium that will be processed into MOX fuel for use at Ikata 3.
Orano has now announced that it has signed two MOX fuel manufacturing contracts with MHI for the 64 MOX fuel assemblies for Genkai 3 and Ikata 3.
"These new contracts strengthen our longstanding relationship with MHI and utility customers in Japan," said Corinne Spilios, senior executive vice president of Orano's Recycling Business Unit. "We are very proud of our Japanese partners' renewed confidence in our expertise. This choice underlines the relevance of recycling for our customers as a responsible and sustainable solution for managing their used fuel."
On 29 November, MHI said it had signed "several contracts" with its Japanese partners to return all waste to Japan still stored at the Orano la Hague plant. In accordance with the terms of the contracts, the equivalent in mass and radioactivity of this waste contained in the used fuel elements must be returned to Japan, a solution authorised by the French administration on 27 November. It noted the entry into force of the signed contracts was subject to the lifting of suspensive conditions.
Between 1981 and 1999, contracts for the reprocessing of used fuel were signed with ten Japanese utilities. These contracts resulted in the recycling of fuel elements from Japanese nuclear reactors and in the conditioning of the residual waste. Under the contracts, 2793 metric tonnes of fuel were processed at Orano's La Hague plant. Almost 97% of the total radioactivity has already been returned to Japan.
MHI has previously supplied 57 MOX fuel assemblies to Japanese utilities.
To date, 44 reactors worldwide have generated electricity from MOX fuel since 1972.
Final cycle of REMIX nuclear fuel trial under way
The third 18-month phase of the pilot operation of innovative REMIX fuel has begun at Russia's Balakavo nuclear power plant's first unit. The aim is to be able to close the fuel cycle for VVER reactors.
Instead of standard enriched natural uranium, the REMIX fuel assemblies contain pellets of a mixture of enriched uranium with recycled uranium and plutonium obtained from used nuclear fuel at VVER reactors.
Six fuel assemblies of the TVS-2M design, equipped with the pilot fuel elements, were loaded into Balakavo 1 in 2021. They are undergoing a standard operating cycle for VVER-1000 reactor fuel, of three 18 month campaigns. Following the first two of those three operating cycles, specialists from TVEL, Rosatom's fuel division, did video inspections of the fuel elements and structural elements of the TVS-2M with no obstacles identified to moving on to the final stage.
The third of the 18 month operating campaigns is now under way, with the REMIX (from Regenerated Mixture) fuel due to be unloaded in 2026 into the used fuel pool before being closely studied.
Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President for Scientific and Technical Activities at TVEL, said: "After completing the pilot programme and post-reactor studies of REMIX fuel, Rosatom will have sufficient justification to offer the market a new product in the Balanced Fuel Cycle concept. At the next stage, we expect to move on to the phased introduction of such fuel at one of the high-capacity VVER power units."
The REMIX fuel cycle would see used fuel assemblies reprocessed so that uranium and plutonium can be recycled as an unseparated mixture. They are topped up with some freshly enriched uranium and made into new fuel, which goes back to be used again. This cycle can be repeated as many as five times, with waste fission products removed each time and vitrified in glass ready for permanent geological disposal. In theory, with three fuel loads in circulation, a reactor could run for 60 years using the same fuel, with LEU recharge and waste removal on each cycle.
Compared with uranium-plutonium fuel for fast reactors - such as MOX fuel - REMIX has a lower plutonium content of up to 5% and the fuel performs within the same parameters as fuel made only from fresh low-enriched uranium. This means a reactor would not need any modification to start using REMIX.
Rosatom said: "In the future, the introduction of uranium-plutonium fuel will allow not only fast neutron reactors to be involved in the closed nuclear fuel cycle, but also classical light-water thermal reactors, which form the basis of modern nuclear energy. This will allow the raw material base of nuclear energy to be expanded many times over by closing the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as reusing irradiated fuel instead of storing it."
Paks II gets key approval for pouring of first concrete
Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó says first concrete is to be poured for the Paks II new nuclear plant early in 2025 after the country's National Atomic Energy Agency approved the preliminary safety report.
Szijjártó said that the regulator's lifting of the retention point was one of the most important milestones for the construction project, saying "this is a serious document with a total volume of half a million pages, which meets the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency". He also noted that the site officially gets the status of a nuclear facility under construction once first concrete is poured.
Excavation of soil to a depth of 23 metres is under way and 39,000 of the 75,000 piles that need to be drilled into the ground during soil consolidation are in place he said, adding: "There are already thousands of people working in the work area."
The first large-scale nuclear power plant equipment - the core catcher - was delivered to the site in August. Also known as a melt trap, the core catcher is a container in the form of a cone made of thermally resistant steel which in the unlikely event of an emergency will securely hold the melt of the core and not allow radioactive substances to leave the containment of the reactor.
In its official announcement of the decision, the National Atomic Energy Agency (Országos Atomenergia Hivatal, OAH) said it had "decided to lift the retention point specified in the construction permit for new nuclear power plant blocks. After that, it is possible to start significant activities (but requiring additional permits), such as the so-called first concrete pouring, during which the first concreting works of the new block's nuclear island are carried out".
"There are a number of technical and administrative conditions for the start of this activity, one of which was the lifting of the holding point specified in the establishment permit - in this procedure. The first concrete pouring has additional conditions prescribed in other permits, such as, for example, obtaining a permit for use of soil consolidation. During construction, the OAH constantly checks compliance with the legal requirements and the conditions laid down in the permits in the framework of ad hoc, announced or unannounced, as well as comprehensive inspections."
The Paks II project was launched in early 2014 by an intergovernmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors to be supplied by Rosatom, with the contract supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The construction licence application was submitted in July 2020 to build Paks II alongside the existing Paks plant, 100 kilometres southwest of Budapest on the banks of the Danube River. The construction licence was issued in August 2022 and a construction timetable agreed last year which set out plans to connect the new units to the grid at the beginning of the 2030s.
The existing four units at Paks are VVER-440 reactors that started up between 1982 and 1987 and they produce about half of the country's electricity. Their design lifetime was for 30 years but that was extended in 2005 by 20 years to between 2032 and 2037. The Hungarian Parliament approved a proposal in 2022 to further extend their lifespan, which means preparations can begin on operating the plant into the 2050s.
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