POWER Digest (November 2014)

Finland Rejects Permit Extension for Olkiluoto Reactor. Finland’s government on Sept. 25 rejected an application from utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) to extend a permit for its proposed Olkiluoto 4 reactor for five years. TVO requested the extension in light of delays from its Olkiluoto 3 EPR project, which is being built by an AREVA-Siemens consortium. That project is now expected to come online in 2018, a decade later than originally planned. Earlier in September, the government approved an amendment to Fennovoima’s decision in principle to include Russia’s AES-2006 reactor model for its proposed Hanhikivi plant. Fennovoima must now submit an application for a construction license to build the plant by June 2015.

UAE Approves Construction License for Barakah 3 and 4. The United Arab Emirate’s (UAE’s) Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation board of management in mid-September approved the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.’s (ENEC’s) application to build two more APR1400 reactors at the Barakah site. Two units, Barakah 1 and 2 are already under construction there and are planned to come online in 2017 and 2018. Unit 1 is reportedly already 57% complete. Units 3 and 4 will enter operation in 2019 and 2020. ENEC poured concrete for the reactor containment building for Unit 3 on Sept. 24. The reactors will provide about 25% of the UAE’s power needs when complete.

NTPC Initiates 4-GW Andra Pradesh UMPP Project. India’s state-owned power company NTPC Ltd. on Sept. 16 announced plans to set up a 4-GW ultra mega power plant at Pudimadaka near Visakhapatnam, where it has been allotted 1,200 acres by the state government of Andhra Pradesh. The project is expected to use imported coal, requiring about 19.8 million metric tons per year. The company must now secure environmental clearances before construction can begin. NTPC also has plans to build a 1-GW solar park in Andhra Pradesh, a project for which the state has allocated 5,500 acres.

China to Back New Nuclear Project in Argentina. China will provide equipment and services for Argentina’s fourth nuclear power plant, Atucha III, under a $2 billion long-term financing agreement, Buenos Aires said on Sept. 3. State-owned company Nucleoelectrica Argentina will build and operate the 800-MW plant, and Chinese state-owned entity China National Nuclear Corp. will provide technical and instrumental support and other services. The plant, to be located at the Atucha complex in Lima about 70 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, will be a CANDU reactor similar to the one installed at the country’s Embalse nuclear station.

EnBW to Sell Share in German Coal Plant. STEAG GmbH on Sept. 23 agreed to take over EnBW’s 75% share in the 780-MW Bexbach Power Station. STEAG already owns the remaining 25% of the plant. A purchase price was not disclosed. The Bexbach Power Station was commissioned in 1983 and is located in the eastern part of Saarland.

Siemens, Daewoo Complete 1.6-GW UAE Gas-Fired Plant. Siemens Energy and South Korean consortium partner Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. on Sept. 2 handed over the 1.6-GW Shuweihat S3 combined cycle power plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The plant’s owner is Shuweihat Asia Power Co., which is a consortium comprising Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., the Korea Electric Power Corp.,and the local utility Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority. The plant is expected to provide much-needed power to the rapidly growing Abu Dhabi population and the nearby Ruwais refinery. The plant uses four Siemens SGT5-4000F gas turbines, two SST5-4000 steam turbines, and six generators (SGen5-1000A and SGen5-2000H). ■

—Sonal Patel