Expansion of nuclear
power
Even though nuclear power is generally consistent
with sustainable development goals, further expansion
of nuclear power faces public concern on nuclear waste
management and political issues on the potential proliferation
of nuclear weapons. Another challenge is to further
strengthen the high level of nuclear safety, while
improving the economic competitiveness of nuclear
power, in particular, to assure profitability in open
and deregulated electricity markets. A number of NPPs
in many countries have already made a successful transition
from a monopoly, cost-plus environment to a competitive
market. This has been achieved through an integrated
approach to meeting interdependent safety and economic
goals. The experience to date shows that safety, operational
and economic performance have improved in both privatised
NPPs (e.g. UK) and those where electricity markets
are being opened to greater competition (e.g. USA).
NPP unit capability factor in the world has improved
during the last decade by about 7%, which is equivalent
to the building of 28 GWe of new NPPs. For the USA,
the increase is more than 15% - from an average value
of below 70% at the end of 1980’s to 86% in 1999 and
it is estimated to have been around 88% in 2000. Analysis
also shows that the NPPs with the best safety records
had the highest availability and the lowest operating
costs (which have fallen by as much as 40%).
Many existing NPPs have a significant economic advantage,
particularly those which have had their capital investments
depreciated or written-off. Well-managed NPPs, with
their low fuel costs and steadily declining operating
and maintenance costs, are often among the least expensive
power plants to operate. This advantage has been sufficient
to encourage the utilities to invest in plant life
extension programmes. The liberalised or open market
also rewards quick reactions and efficient operation
of NPPs at competitive costs in some countries such
as the USA. This has prompted consolidation in the
nuclear industry, acquisitions, up-ratings and licence
extension applications, rather than new construction.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has also
adopted a risk-informed or performance-based approach
for regulating the operations of NPPs, by which NPP
lifetime extension programmes have been effectively
carried out by many utilities or operators. As a result,
the US NRC granted the first 20-year licence renewal
to Calvert Cliffs units 1 & 2 (860 MWe pressurised
water reactors, PWRs) in March 2000 and the second
20-year renewal to Oconee units 1 to 3 (886 MWe PWRs)
in May 2000. These NPPs now have licensed operating
life of 60 years. About 40% of operating NPPs in the
USA have indicated an intention to seek licence renewals
and the US NRC expects the figure to eventually reach
85%. On the other hand, the new anti-nuclear German
government concluded an agreement with German utilities
in June 2000 for an early phase-out of their 19 currently
operating NPPs that will result in an average lifetime
of 32 calendar years, while allowing utilities the
option of closing less efficient NPPs sooner in order
to run more efficient ones longer. Other initiatives
by anti-nuclear governments in Western Europe focused
on early termination or closure of some Eastern European
NPPs and on negotiations to implement the "flexibility
mechanisms" under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which seeks
to limit future greenhouse gas emissions.
The capital-intensive nature of NPPs has also contributed
to bringing new construction to a minimum, as is evident
by only a handful of new construction starts over
the past few years. Competing with fossil power plants
and especially small gas units where an investment
can often be recovered in less time than it takes
to bring an NPP into operation, requires a lower capital
investment for NPPs and substantially shorter construction
period. Recent standardised NPPs with multiple units
at the same site have seen construction periods shortened
considerably and operating costs reduced as well.
The French REP (PWR) 2000 series is estimated to have
achieved savings of 20% in capital cost and a reduction
in operating costs, such as those for staff training
and spare parts storage. Such recently commissioned
NPPs as Kashiwazaki Kariwa units 6 & 7 (1 356 MWe
advanced boiling water reactors, BWRs) in Japan and
Ulchin units 3 & 4 (1 000 MWe Korean standard PWRs)
in the Republic of Korea were built in less than 5
years, which resulted in significantly reduced capital
costs, compared with some nuclear units in other countries,
where construction periods have been prolonged to
even longer than 10 years.
>>Click
to Continue....
