Embalse plant starts second 30-year service life

摘要

Following the completion of a three-year life extension project, the Embalse nuclear power plant has been restarted and is expected to operate for another 30 years. Owner-operator Nucle-oelectrica Argentina brought the CANDU 6 reactor to criticality at 2 p.m. on January 4, after the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) issued an amendment to the operating license on January 2. The amendment authorized the operator to commence startup procedures, first taking the reactor to criticality, followed by a power raising and testing sequence to verify that the plant meets requirements. The test results will be assessed by ARN before a new license authorizing regular operation is issued. The new license will also allow for the production of cobalt-60 for the radio-isotope market. For CANDU power plants, after about 30 years of operation, a major refurbishment is required to continue to operate. This involves the replacement of the main reactor components, including the calan-dria tubes, fuel channels, coolant feeders, and other associated equipment. The Embalse plant, which began commercial operation in January 1984, was shut down for the refurbishment on December 31, 2015. The refurbishment also involved other plant renovations, including the replacement of the steam generators, to ensure that the facility is able to complete a second 30-year service life. Further work was carried out to increase the gross generating capacity by 6 percent, from 648 MWe to 683 MWe.