U.S. License Renewal and Long Term Operation in the 2010’s

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry G. Young
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Nuclear Plant ◽  
Plant Operation ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
The U.S

As of February 2010, the NRC has renewed the operating licenses for 59 nuclear units, which will allow for up to 60 years of safe nuclear plant operation. In addition, the NRC has license renewal applications under review for 19 units and nuclear plant owners of more than 18 units have announced plans to submit license renewal applications over the next few years. This brings the total of renewed licenses and announced plans for license renewal to over 90% of the 104 currently operating nuclear units in the U.S. This paper presents some of the factors that have made the U.S. license renewal process so successful and how these same factors will be important for the second round of license renewal, which is expected to begin in the mid-2010’s. These long term operation factors include (1) the successful regulatory process and on-going continuous improvement of that process, (2) long-term safe plant operation, (3) stable low-cost generation of electricity, (4) high levels of sustained plant reliability, and (5) strong public opinion favorable to nuclear power plants.

License Renewal: Status of Long Term Operation in the U.S.

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry G. Young
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Renewal Process ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Nuclear Plant ◽  
Plant Operation ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
The U.S

As of February 2008, the NRC has approved renewal of the operating licenses for 48 nuclear units and has applications under review for 15 more units. In addition, nuclear plant owners for at least 25 more units have announced plans to submit license renewal applications over the next few years. This brings the total of renewed licenses and announced plans for license renewal to over 80% of the 104 currently operating nuclear units in the U.S. This paper presents some of the factors that have made the U.S. license renewal process so successful. These factors include (1) the successful regulatory process and on-going continuous improvement of that process, (2) long-term safe plant operation trends, (3) stable low-cost generation of electricity, (4) high levels of plant reliability, and (5) improving public opinion trends.

Long Term Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Status in the U.S.

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry G. Young
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
The U.S

As of January 2013, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating licenses of 73 nuclear units out of a total of 104 licensed units, allowing for up to 60 years of safe operation. In addition, the NRC has license renewal applications under review for 15 units and more than 13 additional units have announced plans to submit applications over the next few years [1]. This brings the total of renewed licenses and plans for renewal to over 97% of the 104 operating nuclear units in the U.S. This paper presents the status of the U.S. license renewal process and issues being raised for possible applications for subsequent renewals for up to 80 years of operation. By the end of 2013 there will be 26 nuclear plants in the U.S. (or 25% of the 104 units) that will be eligible to seek a second license renewal and by the end of 2016 this number will increase to about 50% of the 104 licensed units. Although some nuclear plant owners have announced plans to shutdown before reaching 60 years, the majority are keeping the option open for long term operation beyond 60 years. The factors that impact decisions for both the first license renewals and subsequent renewals for 80 years of safe operation are presented and discussed in this paper.

scholarly journals ASME in-service inspection and in-service testing programs for Angra 1

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3A) ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA ROSA BALIZA MAIA ◽  
Youssef Morghi ◽  
AMIR ZACARIAS MESQUITA
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Plant Safety ◽  
Service Testing ◽  
Design And Manufacturing ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
Service Inspection

The in-service inspection program of the Angra 1 plant is updated every 10 years, according to applicable standards - designer (American Project - are followed NRC requirements) and Cnen. NRC approves the use of ASME Section XI (In-service Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components). The object of in-service inspection of components in nuclear power plants is to provide a continuing assurance that they are safe. To provide this assurance for those components that are subject to the requirements of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, a set of rules has been formulated to provide assurance that the functional requirements of the components are available when required. The rules have been arranged to provide appropriate levels of assurance according to the importance of the component in its relationship to plant safety. The classifications that are established during design and manufacturing have been adopted to provide the levels of importance for the components. The types of components typically found in the various classifications have then been identified and rules formulated for each type. For each type of component in each classification, the functions have been considered and methods of inspecting, testing, or monitoring each component is specified. These rules include methods of determining the limits of acceptance of the results. Should it be necessary to take corrective action to repair various components, rules have been provided to establish acceptable methods of repair or replacement. Angra 1 started the Renewal License and Long-term Operation project and there are three important Aging Management Programs (AMP) that are based on ASME section XI. This article will discuss the ASME section XI subsections that are important for the License Renewal and Long-term Operation for Angra 1.  

Operating Nuclear Plant License Renewal Program Status and Trends

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry G. Young
Keyword(s):  
Renewal Process ◽  
Nuclear Plant ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Plant Operation ◽  
Renewal Program ◽  
Status And Trends ◽  
The Status ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
The U.S

As of February 2011, the NRC has renewed the operating licenses for 62 nuclear units, which will allow for up to 60 years of safe nuclear plant operation. In addition, the NRC has license renewal applications under review for 20 units and nuclear plant owners of more than 17 units have announced plans to submit license renewal applications over the next few years. This brings the total of renewed licenses and announced plans for license renewal to over 95% of the 104 currently operating nuclear units in the U.S. This paper presents the status of the U.S. license renewal process, the positive trend in regulatory stability through 2007, and the negative trend in regulatory stability after 2007. From 2000 through 2007, the NRC was able to complete the license renewal review and issue renewed licenses in 30 months or less for 100% of the license renewal applicants. In fact, approximately 77% of the reviews were completed in 22 months or less. Since 2007, NRC reviews have become much less predictable, with 21% of the reviews exceeding 30 months and only 7% being completed in 22 months or less. In fact, some reviews currently underway have exceeded 60 months and the reviews remain incomplete. One of the main factors leading to the loss of timely regulatory reviews has been the NRC adjudicatory process for license renewal, although the safety and environmental review processes have also become less timely since 2007. The factors that contributed to the positive and the negative trends are presented.

Guided Waves as an Online Monitoring Technology for Long-Term Operation in Nuclear Power Plants: Experimental Results on a Steam Discharge Pipe

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Cappelli ◽  
Francesco Cordella ◽  
Francesco Bertoncini ◽  
Marco Raugi
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Guided Waves ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Guided Wave ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Term Operation

Guided wave (GW) testing is regularly used for finding defect locations through long-range screening using low-frequency waves (from 5 to 250 kHz). By using magnetostrictive sensors, some issues, which usually limit the application to nuclear power plants (NPPs), can be fixed. The authors have already shown the basic theoretical background and simulation results concerning a real steel pipe, used for steam discharge, with a complex structure. On the basis of such theoretical framework, a new campaign has been designed and developed on the same pipe, and the obtained experimental results are now here presented as a useful benchmark for the application of GWs as nondestructive techniques. Experimental measures using a symmetrical probe and a local probe in different configurations (pulse-echo and pitch-catch) indicate that GW testing with magnetostrictive sensors can be reliably applied to long-term monitoring of NPPs components.

Life Beyond 60 Years: The Importance of Sustaining the Current Fleet of Light Water Reactors in the U.S. and the R&D Needs

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronaldo Szilard ◽  
Hongbin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Light Water Reactors ◽  
Economic Operation ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
The U.S

The current fleet of 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S. began their operation with 40 years operating licenses. About half of these plants have their licenses renewed to 60 years and most of the remaining plants are anticipated to pursue license extension to 60 years. With the superior performance of the current fleet and formidable costs of building new nuclear power plants, there has been significant interest to extend the lifetime of the current fleet even further from 60 years to 80 years. This paper addresses some of the key long term technical challenges and identifies R&D needs related to the long term safe and economic operation of the current fleet.

Research Activities in the European Union on Ageing Management for Long Term Operation of Nuclear Power Plants

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Martin ◽  
Antonio Ballesteros ◽  
Christiane Bruynooghe ◽  
Michel Bie`th
Keyword(s):  
Energy Supply ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Ageing Management ◽  
The Eu

The energy supply of the future in the EU will be a mix of renewable, fossil and nuclear. There are 145 nuclear power reactors in operation in 15 out of the 27 EU countries, with installed power ∼132 GWe. The age distribution of current nuclear power plants in EU is such that in 2010 most of them will have passed 20-years and approximately 25% of them 30 years of age. The decrease of energy supply from nuclear generated electricity can not always be compensated in a reliable and economical way within a short time span. For this situation utilities may be keen to upgrade the reactor output and /or to ask their regulatory bodies for longer term operation. Under the research financed in the Euratom part of the Research Directorate (RTD) of the European Commission several projects explicitly address the safe long term operation of nuclear power plants (NULIFE, LONGLIFE) and the topics proposed in the 2010 call explicitly address issues concerning component ageing, in particular non metallic components, i.e. instrumentation and cables (I&C) and concrete ageing. This paper presents an overview of the plans for long term operation (LTO) of nuclear power plants in the EU. Special emphasis is given on research activities on component ageing management and long term operation issues related to safety.

License Renewal and Subsequent License Renewal in the U.S.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry G. Young
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
The Status ◽  
License Renewal ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Operating Plant

As of February 2014, the NRC has renewed the operating licenses for 73 nuclear units, allowing for up to 60 years of safe operation. In addition, the NRC has license renewal applications under review for 18 units and 9 additional units have announced plans to submit applications over the next few years [1]. This brings the total of renewed licenses and plans for renewal to 100% of the operating nuclear units in the U.S. By the end of 2014, there will be 38 nuclear plants that will have operated for more than 40 years and will be eligible to seek a subsequent license renewal (or almost 40% of the nuclear units expected to be operating at the end of 2014). In 2013, nuclear plant owners of 5 units shutdown operation or announced plans to shutdown by the end of 2014. However, most of the remaining operating plant owners are keeping the option open for long term operation beyond 60 years. NRC and the U.S. nuclear industry have made significant progress in preparing the way for subsequent license renewal applications. This paper presents the status of the U.S. license renewal process and issues being addressed for possible applications for subsequent renewals for up to 80 years of operation.

Long-Term Operation of BWR RPV and its Internals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otso Cronvall
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Computational Time ◽  
Degradation Mechanisms ◽  
Irradiation Embrittlement ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Operational Lifetime

This study concerns the long-term operation (LTO) of a boiling water reactor (BWR) reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and its internals. The main parts of this study are: survey on susceptibility to degradation mechanisms, and computational time limited ageing analyses (TLAAs). The ageing of nuclear power plants (NPPs) emphasises the need to anticipate the possible degradation mechanisms. The BWR survey on susceptibility to these uses the OL1/OL2 RPVs and significant internals as a pilot project. It is not necessary to carry out the TLAAs for all components. Some components were excluded from the TLAAs with a screening process. To do this, it was necessary to determine the component specific load induced stresses, strains and temperature distributions as well as cumulative usage factor (CUF) values. For the screened-in components, the TLAAs covered all significant time dependent degradation mechanisms. These include (but are not limited to): • irradiation embrittlement, • fatigue, • stress corrosion cracking (SCC), and • irradiation accelerated SCC (IASCC). For the components that were screened-in, the potential to brittle, ductile or other degradation was determined. Only some of the most significant cases and results are presented. According to the analysis results, the operational lifetime of the OL1/OL2 RPVs and internals can safely be extended from 40 to 60 years.

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