[ RadSafe ] Chinese fast reactor starts supplying electricity 21 July 11

[Maury]

Forwarded by
Maury&Dog [MaurySiskel  maurysis at peoplepc.com]
===========================================
WNN
New Nuclear
Chinese fast reactor starts supplying electricity
21 July 2011

Exactly one year after achieving first criticality, China's experimental 
fast neutron reactor has been connected to the electricity grid.

At 10.00am today, the head of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), 
Sun Qin, declared to workers and officials gathered in the Chinese 
Experimental Fast Reactor's (CEFR's) control room that the unit had 
successfully achieved grid connection.

The sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor has been constructed with some 
Russian assistance at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIEA), near 
Beijing, which undertakes fundamental research on nuclear science and 
technology. The reactor has a thermal capacity of 65 MW and can produce 
20 MW in electrical power. The CEFR was built by Russia's OKBM 
Afrikantov in collaboration with OKB Gidropress, NIKIET and Kurchatov 
Institute.

Xu Mi, chief engineer at the CEFR program at CIEA, told Bloomberg that 
the unit was connected to the grid at 40% capacity. "The next step for 
us is to increase the generating capacity of the reactor to 100% while 
connected to the grid," he said. "After that, we can use the technology 
to build our own commercial fast reactors."

Beyond the pilot plant, China once planned a 600 MWe commercial scale 
version by 2020 and a 1500 MWe version in 2030 but these ambitious ideas 
have been overtaken by the import of ready-developed Russian designs. In 
October 2009, an agreement was signed by CIAE and China Nuclear Energy 
Industry Corporation (CNEIC) with AtomStroyExport to start pre-project 
and design works for a commercial nuclear power plant with two BN-800 
reactors with construction to start in August 2011, probably at a 
coastal site. The project is expected to lead to bilateral cooperation 
of fuel cycles for fast reactors, which promise to vastly extend the 
fuel value of uranium as well as reduce radioactive wastes.

In April 2010, a joint venture company was established for the 
construction of China's first commercial-scale fast neutron reactor, 
near the inland city of Sanming in Fujian province. The joint venture - 
Sanming Nuclear Power Co Ltd - was established by CNNC, Fujian 
Investment and Development Corp and the municipal government of Sanming 
city. CNNC holds a majority stake in the venture.



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by World Nuclear News