NuCrane ships first AP1000 polar crane to China Companies mentioned include: NuCrane, Westinghouse, I&C Energo, AtomStroyExport, Skoda JS, Gidropress, Areva, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan's Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Electric Power Research Institute, Toro Energy, EDF Energy, Vietnam's Science and technology Ministry, Nehru Science Centre, and RWE AG.Weekly Intelligence Brief 18-26 August 2011

The first polar crane for use at the AP1000 reactors currently under construction at Sanmen, China, has been shipped from the manufacturing plant in the USA, Westinghouse announced.

The crane, which was manufactured at the NuCrane facility in Minnesota, will be delivered to unit 1 at Sanmen, and is being transported in sections to be assembled on site. Eleven flat bed trucks and 15 shipping containers are being used to transport the components by road to New Orleans, where they will be loaded onto commercial ships headed for China. The crane is due to arrive at the Sanmen construction site in Zhejiang province in late October.

Westinghouse signs MOU with Czech firm I&C Energo

Westinghouse has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Czech engineering-supply company I&C Energo to cooperate in instrumentation and control systems for potential new AP1000 units in the Czech Republic. The MOU also includes associated testing and start-up services.

Westinghouse has submitted a tender bid to Czech utility CEZ to build two AP1000 units at the Temelin plant, which already has two Russian-supplied VVER reactors. Additional bids have been placed by Russia's AtomStroyExport, in a consortium with Czech company Skoda JS and Russia's Gidropress, as well as France's Areva.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Areva capital alliance put on hold

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has decided to freeze negotiations on a capital alliance with French nuclear energy giant Areva SA until further notice, Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported. Mitsubishi originally planned to acquire a stake of about 3% of capital in the French company. However, due to an unclear outlook for Japan’s nuclear-related businesses in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, the company will now freeze the investment plan and cancel negotiations.

The two companies currently have a business tie-up in nuclear power generation, which they will maintain. It involves the development of a midsize nuclear reactor and a joint venture to produce nuclear fuel since 2006.

Japanese and American Research Institutes announce collaboration

Japan's Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) and US-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have agreed to collaborate on research into nuclear materials and radiation issues. The three-year agreement will see the two organizations jointly researching nuclear power plant issues related to material science, plant component performance and radiation safety.

This will include the use of three-dimensional tools at atomic level to improve understanding of the neutron damage impact on reactor materials, as well as the development of new materials that are more resistant to radiation damage. EPRI and CRIEPI will also evaluate reactor vessel behaviour under abnormal and highly unusual circumstances, such as those experienced at the Fukushima plant. Further studies will evaluate the effects of low-dose radiation on nuclear power plant workers and public health.

Toro seeks JV partners for Wiluna uranium project

Toro Energy has announced it is looking at various options to fund its A$300-million Wiluna project in Western Australia, including the introduction of a joint venture (JV) partner to the project. Toro MD Greg Hall said the company had re-entered JV discussions with six nuclear energy players. The company is now at the stage to re-engage with potential JV partners, and would await the outcome of government approvals and the results from the final feasibility studies before signing a JV agreement.

However, Hall noted that the company would seek to maintain the majority of Wiluna’s production for direct sale to nuclear players. Toro is currently in the public review process of its government assessment, which is expected to close by the end of October. A final state approval for the Wiluna project is expected by April or May next year. Subject to government approval, Toro plans to start production at Wiluna by 2013. The project would involve mining up to two-million tons a year of mineralised ore, over about ten years, producing 700 t/y of uranium oxide concentrate.

EDF Energy will restart UK Heysham 1-1 reactor August 25

EDF Energy's 610-megawatt Heysham 1-1 nuclear reactor is scheduled to restart on August 25, after the operator ceased the unit last week for refuelling. "It stopped one minute after midnight for refuelling," a spokeswoman said. The utility showed in its daily plant outage schedule last week that the reactor was due to resume operation on August 25. The schedule also showed that EDF Energy's 620-MW Hartlepool 1 reactor was scheduled to reconnect on August 24 after a six-week statutory outage.

“Hall of Nuclear Power” inaugurated at Nehru Science Centre

India’s first permanent exhibition on nuclear power dedicated to the nation has formally opened for the public at the Nehru Science Centre in Worli, South of Mumbai. Spread over an area of 7,500 square feet, the ‘Hall of Nuclear Power’ covers most aspects of nuclear energy, including extensive information about nuclear power generation, its production, fuel processing, transportation, safety, security, nuclear waste and its management.

The exhibition also covers non-power applications, such as nuclear medicines, food irradiation technology, and more. One of the major attractions in the gallery is a state-of-the-art virtual tour of a nuclear power plant, in which visitors can learn about nuclear energy through touch-screen computer kiosks, video terminals, interactive exhibits and informative panels.

Vietnam to study seismic risk at nuclear plant site

Vietnam's science and technology ministry has ordered a new study of the site where the country's first nuclear power station is planned to be built, after scientists warned there was an earthquake and tsunami risk, newspaper Thanh Nien reported.

The coastal location of the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 plants, the first of which is scheduled to begin production in 2020, was determined to be within 80-100 km (50-62 miles) of a fault line, the newspaper said. The study will run until 2013 and look at all the risks associated with the fault. Construction of the two-reactor power station in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan is expected to start in 2014 and will use Russian technology.

RWE H1 profit falls on nuclear phase-out

RWE's first-half core net profit has dropped 40%, as a result of a government decision to phase out nuclear power and unprofitable gas sales, Reuters reported. Germany's largest power producer said first-half profit took a 900 million euro ($845 million) hit from provisions to decommission nuclear power plants, the write-off of nuclear fuel rods, and a nuclear fuel tax.

RWE was preparing for a strategy revamp recently while naming Dutch accountant Peter Terium as chief executive from 2012. It announced he would take charge of political talks immediately. Since Japan’s nuclear disaster, Germany has shut eight nuclear power plants. The government also decided to completely phase out nuclear power by 2022, overturning legislation that had extended the lifespan of 17 plants.