Operations & Maintenance

With the average cost to build a new nuclear reactor sitting around the $9B mark, it is clear that new build projects in the US will represent a huge spend for utilities. With the costs for nuclear new build sitting so high, many utilities are looking at other routes to provide the ever-increasing need for energy.

Many utilities, as an answer to this increasing need for energy, are utilizing nuclear power uprates in order to increase their output capacity and to cater for the increasing needs for power.

Exelon, one of the leading US utilities spoke to Nuclear Energy Insider about the importance of uprates for the US nuclear industry. Sharon Eldridge, Senior Staff Engineer for Corporate Design Engineering at Exelon said,

“Nuclear plants typically gain between 1.7% and 20% more power output when successfully completing power uprate projects.  This is anticipated to be done with approximately half the capital cost of building a new plant and with no added long term O&M costs.”

Sharon will be joining other industry experts at this year’s Nuclear Power Uprate Conference in Washington DC to discuss uprate best practice and to share their knowledge. Sharon said, “Successful implementation includes learning and using best practices from others in the industry.”

Sharon will discuss the importance of Margin Management on uprate projects and the need to understand cost versus reward. Accident and safety analysis will also be discussed with a direct reference as to how they may impact margin.

To find out more about the Nuclear Power Uprate Conference on June 21-22 in Washington DC, please visit www.nuclearenergyinsider.com/uprate

For more information on this article, please contact:

Dean Murphy

Senior Industry Analyst

Nuclear Energy Insider

Toll Free: 1800 814 3459 ext 7204