New reactor projects, initiatives progress in France, Netherlands, Egypt
With August in the rearview mirror, here is a roundup of some international news out of Europe and Africa you may have missed toward the end of last month.
EPR2 units at Gravelines: The French government has granted Électricité de France (EDF) the environmental authorization to launch site preparation work for two Framatome EPR2 reactor units at the Gravelines nuclear power plant site. The decision was listed in the French government’s Official Journal posting for August 22. EDF highlighted the news in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday as the utility recapped its month of August.
Gravelines is the largest of France’s nuclear power plants, with six 910-MWe pressurized water reactor units at the site. The facility’s PWRs are Framatome CP1s. Gravelines was in the news earlier this summer when EDF shut down three of the six reactors because of a “massive influx” of jellyfish. The swarm also prompted a reduction of power in another reactor by 50 percent.
New-plant studies in the Netherlands: EDF returned to the news only days later when NEO NL awarded contracts to EDF and Westinghouse to conduct design studies for two new nuclear power plants in the Netherlands. NEO NL—short for Nuclear Energy Organisation Netherlands—is the state-owned company tasked with constructing two nuclear plants in the country, each with a capacity of at least 1,000 MW. According to NEO NL, both plants will be constructed at a single location.
The first phase of the studies will address front-end engineering design while the Dutch government considers potential sites. The second phase will focus specifically on the site ultimately chosen by the Dutch government.
“During the design studies, EDF and Westinghouse will assess how their reactor designs, based on proven Generation III+ reactor technology, can be aligned with Dutch legislation and regulatory requirements,” a news release said. “This includes compliance with construction regulations, licensing requirements, technical standards, and the overall project schedule. Potential risks and key areas requiring attention will also be identified at an early stage.”
The studies are expected to take 12–18 months to complete, the release said.
El Dabaa progress: Dry shielding installation was completed at the third unit of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt, operator Nuclear Power Plants Authority said on Saturday. Construction work continues at El Dabaa, which is slated to become Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, deploying four third-generation Russian VVER-1200 nuclear units, with a total capacity of 4,800 MW.
The dry shielding update was the most recent of several August updates from the NPPA. A few days earlier, the organization described a meeting between Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat and Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev in Russia.
The meeting included talks on progress at El Dabaa as well as a review of “the executive status of the works being implemented in the various components of the project, and the completion rates.” According to the NPPA, Esmat also met with Rosatom officials that specialized in “small nuclear reactor units” and discussed the potential for cooperation.
