Sponsored Content

Radiation Safety & Control Services Inc. (RSCS) was contracted by Energy Solutions LLC to design and build a custom mobile laboratory to support the chemistry and radiation protection departments during D&D and FSS activities at the Kewaunee Power Station (KPS). The Environmental & Engineering (E&E) department of RSCS was tasked with the planning, design, procurement, management, and oversight of the project. The E&E Team at RSCS has considerable experience in nuclear site characterization, establishment of radiological environmental monitoring programs, GIS, and field sampling. E&E team members have developed and audited radiological environmental monitoring programs for several nuclear sites around the US. Our corporate environmental and engineering team includes a broad range of professional disciplines including:

Westinghouse Parts Business is excited to announce our partnership with The Park Company. The Park Company has demonstrated excellence in nuclear component obsolescence solutions for over 30 years with experience in part valuation and resale. The Westinghouse and The Park Company team provides industry leading design, testing and resale market experience.

Structural Technologies brings industrial Operating Experience into the nuclear sector at just the right time. As the US fleet of reactors reaches the period of extended operation and many stations begin to eye the reality of an 80-year life, it may very well be the passive components that take on an active role in key decision making.

Technology, Experience, and Efficiency in Fire Protection & Physical Security

Element and NTS have merged to become the world’s premier provider of Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) services for safety-critical, tightly regulated industries where failure is not an option. We provide unmatched resources, knowledge, service, technical competence, and scale, helping our customers go to market with confidence. In the energy sector, we verify functionality, reliability, and efficiency at every stage of the value chain, from extraction to generation to distribution.

Net zero emission policies across the globe, and more specifically in the USA, have nuclear power plants in the crosshairs of efficiency and safe power generation. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), Nuclear Power currently provides 52% of the nation’s 100% clean electricity. However, shifting energy markets, among other economic factors, have already resulted in the early closure of 12 commercial reactors across the United States since 2013. These closures have put pressure on existing nuclear infrastructure, and the DOE has thus pledged a $6 Billion Program, named the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program, to preserve the clean nuclear energy infrastructure of the United States.

Dominion Engineering, Inc. (DEI) has developed a number of innovative and cost effective tools and services designed to improve fuel reliability.

15 years into an epic journey to realize the potential of the most abundant and safest nuclear fuel and critical material known to man. Thorium Energy Alliance (T.E.A.) has made world changing progress in reviving the many uses of thorium and its allied companion elements.

Westinghouse Parts Business (WPB) is excited to be collaborating with Samshin Ltd to provide replacements for obsolete valves using Samshin designs. Samshin has manufactured hundreds of Westinghouse-designed valves and valve parts for applications across the globe with reliable operation for over a decade.

Westinghouse Parts Business (WPB) is proud of the first next generation Motor Generator (MG) Set System fully operational at Palo Verde Generating Station. The team completed a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) implementation and installation at the power plant operated by Arizona Public Service (APS), including the next generation MG Control Power Cabinets and new MG Sets. Additionally, Westinghouse installed the new ARCH (Advanced Rod Control Hybrid) system. These systems were installed in a single outage providing additional synergies and cost savings to operations.

Imagine if your employees had a Virtual Assistant that could create condition reports, work requests, or plan work orders simply by asking for it. Or better yet, what if the Virtual Assistant could create work packages and plan your employees’ day automatically without even having to ask? How much more productive would we be if we all had a Virtual Assistant to help perform our work and capture and share our activities as they occurred?

Nucleation Capital is a new venture fund focused on investing in next-generation nuclear energy and deep decarbonization. We are pleased to introduce ourselves to the broader nuclear community under the ANS theme “Invested in Nuclear.” Investing is always a forward-looking endeavor and, from what seemed to be an uncertain future, we’re delighted to see the industry anticipating substantial new growth and working to support it.

Bolstering this new outlook are important trends that are worth highlighting. We’re all seeing amazing shifts in how nuclear power is discussed. In the last few years, Nuclear has garnered surprise support from Democratic governors seeking to protect existing plants and Republican governors repealing old nuclear bans and vying to get next-gen plants sited in their states. In key pieces of federal climate legislation, nuclear has seen equal treatment under ITCs and PTCs and billions allocated to help save older plants and accelerate commercialization of new plants.

The return of low natural gas prices combined with the advent of high efficiency renewables has placed more pressure on nuclear power plant operators to reduce their operational and maintenance costs and to increase plant availability while continually meeting the increasing number of safety and regulatory requirements. Outage management is a key factor for good, safe, and economic nuclear power plant performance; it involves detailed planning and preparation as well as the application of proven advanced technologies for completing task activities. Outage tasks frequently require the use of pure, high clarity water. Traditional filtration technologies used for maintaining clarity have long been the bane of many nuclear plant operators. Poor water quality in the fuel pool and reactor cavity can cause high radiation exposure, and high turbidity can lead to the slow-down or complete stoppage of underwater work activities.

Power generation has many factors and key indicators to identify the “health” of a plant. Some macro-level indicators are vital to help identify challenges before they become problems; others are less sensitive yet just as important. Micro indicators such as condenser return temps or changes in pump pressures can be critical indicators of a problem that few understand, yet which results in enormous loss of efficiency. That problem is deposits on critical system tubing and piping caused by calcium carbonate or other mineral buildups. The bottom line? Scaling is a significant issue in power plants that can considerably impact efficiency and profitability.

INPO IER 21-4

Safety and reliability have long been hallmarks of the commercial nuclear industry, which has averaged an annual capacity factor over 90% since 2012 and generates more than 775 GWh of clean energy each year (US EIA).

In an industry driven to continuously improve to maintain plant availability at high levels, equipment reliability remains a frequent subject of conversation between nuclear plant operators and suppliers. In September 2021, INPO released event report 21-4 titled “Improving Plant Reliability” and identified a steady trend in equipment-related events which resulted in lost generation of 38 million MWh between 2018 and 2022. These events were generally preventable and led INPO to make several recommendations to the industry, most notably one that challenged the industry to review and establish a “sustainable parts quality process”.

Obsolescence and the ability to obtain qualified replacement and spare parts are primary concerns in the nuclear industry. In fact, approximately 35% of installed equipment is obsolete.

Westinghouse Parts Business (WPB) has over 50 years of experience replacing and upgrading systems for operating nuclear power plants with access to original design information as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

WPB provides innovative, cost-efficient solutions for Westinghouse and non-Westinghouse systems in order to increase reliability of I&C systems, including enhanced replacement components, repair and refurbishment services. Recently, WPB has supported numerous customers in obsolescence and Reverse Engineering (RE) services.

While nuclear power plants are some of the most highly regulated and safe worksites in the world, inspection challenges remain. According to estimates by industry experts, the over 400 reactors located across the globe are, on average, 30 years old, and getting older. Extending the nuclear fleet’s lifetime to 60 years or longer has become an imperative in many countries, with engineers and scientists looking for new methods and solutions to predict and maintain the structural integrity and reliability of on-site infrastructure. An unprecedented labor shortage, retiring inspection specialists, and legacy work methodologies are exacerbating the issues in conducting safety inspections efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively.

Computer-Guided Work

When it comes to computer-guided navigation, we look to our GPS app for seamless guidance. It provides granular, step-by-step directions while it tracks our position and progress towards our destination. It superimposes relevant information such as the location of restaurants and the lowest price gas stations on route. One of these days, it will even read us the menu of a selected restaurant on our path while placing an order as we drive towards it.

Managing plant source term for refueling outage cleanup and full power service can be controlled with the aid of specially macroporous resins. These ion exchange resins are often a cost-effective media for containing impurities in nuclear coolant, minimizing the release of contaminants and ionic leakage, all while encountering impact from oxidative chemistry and radiation. Macroporous resins continue to meet increased expectations in the industry and are considered among the best-accepted practices for nuclear plant source term minimization in standalone and layered polishing vessels.

The process of making fuel for our light-water nuclear plants is meticulously developed and executed. And as anyone who has gone through the receipt process once it arrives at the plant can attest, the initial quality examination is likewise a thorough and rigorous activity. We do a great job of making sure that high quality fuel is ready to go into the core.