FERC Should Define, Foster and Retain Resilience

1

May 11–May 17, 2018

A report to members of the Nuclear Energy Institute

In This Issue

www.nei.org

FERC Should Define, Foster and Retain Resilience

ICF study finds changes to generation mix outpacing planning framework

RTOs must include fuel security risks in long-term planning to assure grid resilience

NEI asks for fuel security risks to be analyzed before nuclear plants can retire

May 11, 2018—While short-term prices continue to drive the premature retirement of

nuclear power plants, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must act to define

resilience to fully understand whether the grid can withstand and recover from high

consequence events, NEI told FERC this week. NEI also pressed for additional analysis of how

nuclear retirements and the increased reliance on natural gas could impact grid resilience.

Last September, Energy Secretary Perry directed FERC to “take swift action” to address

threats to the resiliency of the U.S. electric grid and issue a rule requiring organized markets

to develop rules to compensate “fuel-secure” electricity generators for the resiliency they

provide to the U.S. grid.

However, this January FERC declined to adopt the U.S. Department of Energy’s proposed

rulemaking and instead directed the regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and

independent system organizations (ISOs) that manage the electric grid to assess the

resilience of the bulk power system and recommend additional actions to mitigate any

identified issues. FERC gave the RTOs and ISOs 90 days to provide comments.

NEI’s May 9 comments to FERC note that the RTOs and ISOs now acknowledge they have

not adequately considered fuel security risks in their long-term planning.

“Taken together, the RTO comments simply do not demonstrate that the grid is ready to

handle the increasing reliance on gas-fired generation. They also fail to assure [FERC] that the

loss of nuclear generation to early retirement will not increase the resilience risk of the rush

to gas,” NEI Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Ellen Ginsberg said in the

comments.

NEI commissioned a recent study by consulting firm ICF, “The Impact of Fuel Supply

Security on Grid Resilience,” which demonstrates that the grid’s move to natural gas has

“outpaced the framework for analyzing the resilience implications of those changes,”

Ginsberg said. The ICF report is included as an appendix to NEI’s comments.

To understand and mitigate resilience risks, NEI urges FERC to undertake three parallel

actions:

Define resilience to incorporate the importance of fuel security, especially on the need

for diverse, long-term fuel-secure resources instead of a sole focus on short-term

reliability metrics.

Foster resilience by adopting planning standards and market policies such that

generators that contribute to resilience are incentivized to participate in the

market.

Retain resilience by requiring that RTOs add a resilience analysis for planned

generator retirements, and expand their authority to retain resilience-critical

resources.

“The premature closure of resilient nuclear power plants is not a theoretical

problem; the retirement process is already underway for several plants. That process

does not—but must—analyze the risks of nuclear plant retirements from a fuel

security perspective,” Ginsberg said. << Chris Charles, cic@nei.org

Japan Update

Kyushu Electric's Genkai 3 Resumes Operation

Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s 1,180-megawatt Genkai 3 nuclear reactor resumed

commercial operation May 16, becoming the seventh reactor to return to service in

Japan.

Saga prefecture, where the Genkai plant is located, approved the resumption of

Genkai 3's operation after the prefecture's committee assessed the safety of the

reactor. The utility also expects its Genkai 4 to return to commercial service in June.

Of Japan’s 39 operable reactors, seven have so far resumed commercial operation

and two more, including Genkai 4, are in the process of following them back into

service.

Japan Plans Up to 22 Percent Nuclear Share By 2030

Japan’s government is committed to nuclear power accounting for at least one-fifth

of the nation’s electricity supply in fiscal 2030, calling it an “important baseload energy

source.”

The government will specify a 20 to 22 percent share for nuclear in its basic energy

plan, a draft of which was presented May 16 to an advisory panel of the Ministry of

Economy, Trade and Industry. The cabinet is expected to approve the plan, which is

revisited every three years.

The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said about 30 reactors must be brought back on

line to meet the target. Before the 2011 Fukushima accident, Japan generated about

30 percent of its electricity from nuclear and had plans to increase that to 40 percent.

<< Chris Charles, cic@nei.org

Page 2 May 11–May 17, 2018

NEI’s Nuclear Energy

Assembly is the annual

conference of the nuclear

technologies industry that

brings together industry

leaders from all levels.

The conference draws

hundreds of senior executives,

North American Young

Generation in Nuclear

members and policymakers

from around the world.

Join us May 21–23, in Atlan-

ta, Georgia! For more infor-

mation and to register, go to:

https://www.nei.org/nea.

Milestones

Rosatom Signs Nuclear Cooperation Agreements

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom on May 15 signed a series of nuclear

cooperation agreements with overseas companies during the Atomexpo conference

and exhibition in Sochi, Russia. The agreements with Chile, China, Cuba, Finland,

Hungary, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Spain and Zambia range from the

engineering and medical sectors to assistance in education and nuclear personnel

training.

The memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia was signed by Rosatom

MENA—Rosatom's regional center for the Middle East and North Africa—and the

Saudi Sumou Holding Co., covering infrastructure security systems, construction,

isotope and wind turbine sectors.

Russia to Start Building Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor Next Year

Construction of Russia’s demonstration lead-cooled fast-neutron reactor, Brest-OD-

300, could start at the beginning of 2019, Russian state news agency Tass reported

May 14.

The reactor and a pilot demonstration power complex will be built at the Siberian

Chemical Combine (SCC) near the city of Seversk in central Russia. The reactor will

have a nearby fuel cycle facility that will include a module for processing irradiated

mixed uranium-plutonium nitride fuel and a fuel fabrication and refabrication unit to

manufacture fuel elements.

SCC belongs to the state nuclear fuel company Tvel, a Rosatom subsidiary. It

comprises several nuclear reactors and plants for conversion, enrichment, separation

and reprocessing of uranium and separation of plutonium.

Russia has two sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors in commercial operation—

Beloyarsk 4, a BN-800 design, and Beloyarsk 3, which is a BN-600.

Brazil Preparing for Angra 1 License Renewal

Brazil’s state-run nuclear plant operator Eletrobras Eletronuclear has made progress

in preparing to extend the operating license of its Angra 1 nuclear reactor from 40 to

60 years, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) peer review mission said.

There are two pressurized water reactors in commercial operation at Angra and one

under construction. The 609-megawatt Angra 1 came on line in 1985.

Eletrobras is preparing to submit an application to the regulator to extend Angra 1’s

operating lifetime by October 2019. A 13-member IAEA team reviewed the plant’s

organization and programs and made several recommendations for a long-term

operations management program. The plant’s management confirmed its commitment

to the recommendations and requested another IAEA mission in November 2020.

Page 3 May 11–May 17, 2018

The Radiological Effluents

and Environmental Workshop

is organized by NEI and

provides a forum to exchange

practical experiences and

issues related to the control

and monitoring of radioactive

effluents, environmental

protection, environmental

monitoring and sampling, and

assessment of environmental

effects, including dose to the

public.

New and returning

workshop participants will be

able to share operating

experience at U.S. and

international facilities and

learn about innovative

approaches and technologies.

For more information and to

register, go to:

https://www.nei.org/

conferences/radiological-

effluents-and-environmental-

workshop.

Dutch Reactor Starts Supplying Xenon-133

The high flux reactor at Petten in the Netherlands has begun producing the medical

radioisotope Xenon-133, following a successful collaboration between nuclear

medicine company Curium and the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group in

implementing a production process for the isotope.

Xe-133 is used in diagnostic inhalation studies for the evaluation of pulmonary

function for imaging the lungs and to assess cerebral blood flow.

Xe-133 gas is being produced as part of the existing molybdenum production process

at Petten, which is based on low-enriched uranium targets. Curium sends the Xe-133 to

its sister company in the United States, where it is converted to the final product. U.S.

hospitals have been able to order the product since May 10. << Chris Charles,

cic@nei.org

Contracts

GSE Systems Win China Simulator Contracts

Baltimore-based GSE Systems has been awarded two contracts from Chinese

customers, worth more than $4 million and to continue over the next two years.

Under one contract, GSE will provide simulation technology and engineering services

to an unnamed customer for delivery of a full scope high-fidelity nuclear power plant

simulator, enhanced with severe accident simulation capability. Under the second

contract, GSE will provide real-time severe accident modeling technology to another

customer for its Chinese-designed CAP1400 plant simulator at a nuclear power plant

site.

The CAP1400, developed by China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. with

consulting input from Westinghouse Electric Co., is an enlarged version of the AP1000

design. Two demonstration CAP1400 units are to be built at Huaneng Group’s

Shidaowan site in Shandong province.

Spain’s Tecnatom Wins EDF Simulator Contract

France’s EDF has awarded a contract to Spanish engineering firm Tecnatom to

update the simulators of its entire fleet of 1,300 megawatt pressurized water reactors.

Under the contract, the value of which was not disclosed, Tecnatom will incorporate a

set of modifications to the full-scope simulators "to bring them into line with the

current technical status of the plants." << Chris Charles, cic@nei.org

Transitions

Industry

BWX Technologies Inc. on May 10 named Joel Duling as president of BWXT Nuclear

Operations Group. Duling is currently president of BWXT’s Nuclear Fuel Services fuel

fabrication subsidiary. He succeeds current Nuclear Operations Group president Joe

Henry, who will retire effective June 22. The company's Nuclear Operations Group

provides nuclear technology to the U.S. government, including naval reactors, and

Page 4 May 11–May 17, 2018

The Senior Executive

Leadership Seminar, co-hosted

by NEI and the Institute of

Nuclear Power Operations

(INPO), provides nuclear

executives with an expanded

skill set for influencing strategic

issues and interacting with

policymakers, public officials

and the financial community.

Participants will learn how to

better influence organizations

of critical importance to the

industry.

It is targeted at executives

with potential for the highest

levels of responsibility in

leading nuclear companies.

For more information or to

register, please contact Eunice

Deras (NEI) or Lisa Clark (INPO).

fabricates nuclear fuel. Nuclear Fuel Services is the sole provider of fuel for the U.S.

Navy.

The board of directors of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) has appointed Ashley

Finan as the organization’s executive director, effective May 16. Finan was previously

director of nuclear innovation at the Clean Air Task Force and has been serving as NIA’s

interim policy director.

International

The World Association of Nuclear Operators has appointed Gaëtan Thomas, chief

executive officer of Canada’s NB Power, as the chairman of the WANO-Atlanta Center

Regional Governing Board. NB Power owns and operates the Point Lepreau nuclear

power plant.

Page 5 May 11–May 17, 2018

NEI’s National Security and

Emergency Preparedness

Summit is the premier

conference for the industry’s

physical security and

emergency preparedness (EP)

professionals.

Keynote speakers, industry

experts, and NRC and other

federal partners will address

topics and issues important to

maintaining and improving

our comprehensive security

and emergency preparedness

programs. The latest

technology, services and

products designed for security

and EP programs will be on

display in the Exhibit Hall.

NEI’s EP Training Course,

held June 25-27, will also

be part of the summit.

For more information and to

register, go to:

https://www.nei.org/

conferences/national-security

-emergency-preparedness-

summit.