The FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in New York avoids closure as Exelon Generation (NYSE: EXC) said it will assume ownership of the plant from Entergy (NYSE: ETR).

As part of the $110 million agreement, Entergy will transfer FitzPatrick’s operating license to Exelon. The New York Power Authority agreed to transfer the decommissioning trust fund and liability for the plant to Entergy. Once regulatory approvals are obtained and the deal is finalized, Entergy will then transfer the fund and associated liability to Exelon. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017 pending approvals from state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New York State Public Service Commission.

“I would like specifically to thank our employees who have continued to operate this plant safely and reliably, despite the uncertainty they have faced about a potential shutdown,” said Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leo Denault. “The pending sale of FitzPatrick is in the best interests of all of our stakeholders: employees, owners, customers and communities, including New Yorkers who will benefit from the plant’s continued clean, safe and reliable energy production.”

Entergy announced in 2015 that it would shut down the single-unit, 838-MW FitzPatrick plant by January 2017 due to the plant losing money. New York regulators and officials worked on plans to save the plant, but Entergy said it was too little, too late. In July, Entergy and Exelon began talks of selling the plant in order to keep it operating.

“Saving FitzPatrick is an enormous win for Central New York and the entire state, preserving hundreds of jobs and maintaining a reliable, carbon-free power source for New Yorkers,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “FitzPatrick’s continued operation is essential both to the regional economy and our nation-leading efforts to power the state with 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.”

Exelon agreed it would move forward with a scheduled refueling outage in January, and regulators passed the state’s Clean Energy Standard in August. Exelon said if the standard was passed, it would reinvest millions into its upstate nuclear plants, including approximately $400-$500 million in operations, integration and refueling expenditures in spring of 2017. The utility also said it did not expect any changes to staffing levels at the plant, which normally staffs around 600 people. Exelon operates two other nuclear plants in upstate New York: Ginna and Nine Mile Point. Nine Mile Point is adjacent to FitzPatrick.

Proposed Duke Energy Nuclear Reactors Pass Safety Evaluation

August 5

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff completed its final safety evaluation report for combined licenses for two planned reactors at the William States Lee site in South Carolina.

The report says there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the licenses for construction and operation of the two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. The NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards provided the results of its independent review to the commission in Dec. 14, 2015. The NRC completed its environmental review and issued the final impact statement in December 2013. A mandatory hearing on the application is expected to take place later this year. Following the hearing, the commission will vote on whether to authorize staff to issue the licenses.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) submitted the application to build and operate the reactors on Dec. 12, 2007. The NRC certified the 1,100-MW AP1000 design in 2012.

EDF’s CEO Allegedly Knew of Hinkley Point C’s Delay Before Board Vote

August 3

EDF’s CEO reportedly knew the UK government wanted to review the Hinkley Point C nuclear contract days before the company’s board voted to move on with the project, according to Reuters.

EDF’s board voted July 28 to push forward with the $24 billion, 3.2-GW project. Hours later, Britain’s new prime minister, Theresa May, delayed the project until the government had more time to review the contract and said it would make a decision in early autumn.

EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy claimed he was caught off-guard by May’s decision, but Reuters reports he was informed on July 21 about the decision to delay and again on July 27 before the board meeting. In emails allegedly sent to Reuters, Lévy said the French government on July 21 had “warned us that in light of her very recent arrival, the new British prime minister has asked for ‘a few days’ before deciding on the project.”

EDF then had to cancel a contract signing ceremony planned for July 29 with UK officials and China, according to DigitalLook. China General Nuclear bought a 33 percent stake in the Hinkley Point C project.

Renewable, Nuclear Power Projected to Rise in North America

August 2

If the U.S. Clean Power Plan (CPP) survives in court, power produced with renewable and nuclear resources in North America will grow from 38 percent in 2015 to 45 percent in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The agency pointed to the recent agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. to produce half of their power supplies from low-carbon resources by 2025.

The projection assumes implementation of the CPP, which was placed on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court, will begin in 2022.

“The extension of certain tax credits, significant cost reductions, and recognition of future CPP requirements result in a large increase in renewable generation between 2015 and 2025,” EIA said Tuesday.

During the same period, coal-fired generation will drop 13 percent while the share of power produced with natural gas rises 4 percent, EIA said.

Mexico accounted for 6 percent of total generation produced in North America in 2015. Canada accounted for 13 percent while U.S. generation represented 80 percent of all power produced in North America last year.

About 80 percent of Canada’s power already comes from low-carbon resources, primarily due to the nation’s vast supply of hydropower capacity. Canada will be adding more wind and solar capacity as it gradually phases out all coal-fired generation. However, the nation’s nuclear capacity is expected to decline with retirements and its use of gas-fired generation is expected to rise.

In Mexico, generation from renewable and nuclear resources is expected to rise from 21 percent in 2015 to 29 percent in 2025, driven primarily by the growth of wind, solar and hydropower capacity.

NRC Inspection Team Headed to Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant

August 2

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is sending an augmented inspection team (AIT) to the Westinghouse nuclear fuel fabrication plant in South Carolina to look into an accumulation of an excessive amount of uranium-bearing material.

An air scrubber, which removes unwanted material from a number of processes at the plant, was undergoing annual inspection and cleanout when an unexpectedly large amount of material was found inside the scrubber. Further analysis showed the materials had uranium levels in that area that were higher than allowed under NRC requirements. The NRC said there were no safety-related consequences as a result of the accumulation, but the potential for such consequences may have existed.

“This incident did not involve employee contamination or a nuclear criticality, but it shows the need for Westinghouse management to review some aspects of their operation,” said NRC Region II Administrator Cathy Haney. “Our inspection will evaluate these issues thoroughly and ensure they are being properly addressed.”

The six-member AIT will review the circumstances, identify the cause or causes and ensure that Westinghouse took appropriate corrective actions. They are expected to spend several days at the facility before continuing an in-office review of the findings. An inspection report will be issued within 30 days of completion of the inspection.

Amec Foster Wheeler Continues Environmental Assessment for NuGen Nuclear Project

August 2

Amec Foster Wheeler will continue to provide environmental support to NuGeneration Limited (NuGen) for a planned 3.8-GW (gross) nuclear power plant at Moorside, Cumbria.

The company will undertake modeling and assessment work so NuGen can submit an environmental impact assessment in support of a Development Consent Order application and environmental permit applications in 2017. This builds on the company’s successful delivery of the initial phases of the environmental impact assessment program, site characterization, two major consultation stages and initial work on the site’s environmental permits.

Amec Foster Wheeler’s environmental and radiological experts utilize experience in areas such as hydrology, ecology, hydrogeology, radiological assessment, air quality and noise and vibration. The team has helped assess impacts of proposed nuclear builds at Hinkley Point, Sizewell, Wylfa and Moorside.

“The NuGen and Amec Foster Wheeler partnership has worked successfully over a number of years and NuGen is pleased to continue this partnership as the environmental impact assessment and operation permits are prepared ahead of delivery in early 2017,” said Paula Madill, NuGen’s Head of Environment.

NYPSC Approves Clean Energy Standard

August 1

The New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) approved the Clean Energy Standard designed to boost renewables and nuclear power in the state.

Commissioners stated their majority vote centered around three main points: grid reliability, keeping carbon emissions low and maintaining jobs. The standard would allow tradable credits for nuclear, solar and wind utilities estimated to be worth $965 million in the first two years. The state set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and generate half of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

“This is not an anti-gas movement, but one that recognizes the importance of fuel diversity as an integral part of a utility system,” said NYPSC Chair Audrey Zibelman. “We believe the actions we are taking today we can all be proud of.”

Commissioner Diane Burman spoke of the blackouts in 1977 and 2003 and the fear of the unknown during the events.

“These are sharp reminders of the need for a reliable and resilient grid,” Burman said. She did say she understood the “concerns and passions of those who oppose nuclear power,” but also noted that many of the public comments from those against it were from people who did not live near plant sites.

“All of the comments for nuclear were from people who lived near nuclear plant site communities,” Burman said. “I gave more weight to those comments.”

Commissioner Gregg Sayre said he lives within 15 miles of Ginna nuclear plant and that the plant has been a “good neighbor.” He went on to say there are no plans to keep the standard around forever, but that the thousands of lost megawatts of nuclear generation cannot be replaced by renewables.

Utilities, scientists, environmentalists and industry and labor groups commented for the proposed standard that would value nuclear’s carbon-free generation attributes and help support financially-struggling plants in the state. The standard would also give incentives to renewable energy and distributed energy projects.

Entergy (NYSE: ETR) announced it would shut down the FitzPatrick nuclear plant in upstate New York by 2017, and Exelon (NYSE: EXC) threatened to shut down the Nine Mile Point and Ginna nuclear plants if the standard was not passed. Exelon is in talks with Entergy to potentially buy FitzPatrick and keep it operating.

Indian Point nuclear plant was initially not included in the standard because there was a provision that required plants to be fully licensed. Indian Point’s license expired, but the plant can continue operating under a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission provision that allows operation so long as the license renewal process is underway. Governor Andrew Cuomo has vehemently been against relicensing Indian Point due to its close proximity to New York City. However, that provision, along with another that required plants to prove they are struggling, were both removed.

“The work in New York is not done,” said Nuclear Matters co-chair and former Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH). “Several of the existing facilities have refueling and capital investment decisions to make. It is important that the order be issued and the CES implemented in an expeditious manner.”

DOE Extends Savannah River Site Nuclear Maintenance Contract

August 8

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) extended the current contract with Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina.

DOE extended the management and operating contract for an additional 22 months. The contract is currently being executed by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC. (SRNS), a Fluor-led partnership, together with SN3 Stoller Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell.

“As always, Fluor succeeds in the nuclear space through its continued focus on safety and security by modeling excellence and delivering results across all elements of the SRNS organization,” said Bruce Stanski, president of Fluor’s Government Group. “It is also a validation of our employees’ good work to make the world safer and the assurance that DOE has in our ability to successfully accomplish the project’s mission.”

SRNS was first awarded the maintenance and operating contract in January 2008 after an open and competitive bidding process. The Savannah River Site supports and maintains the nuclear weapons stockpile as well as processing and storing nuclear materials in support of U.S. nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

Loviisa Nuclear Plant Refueling and Maintenance Outage Begins

August 5

Fortum will soon start the annual refueling and maintenance outage at its Loviisa nuclear plant in Finland.

The Unit 1 outage is set to begin August 7, followed by servicing of Unit 2. Unit 1 will undergo the extensive inspection outage performed every four years and Unit 2 is scheduled for a so-called short refueling outage. The entire outage procedure is estimated to be finished in eight weeks.

At Loviisa 1, reheaters and safety valves in the initial steam line will be replaced. At Unit 2, the generator’s rotor will be replaced and major overhaul of stator conducted. One quarter of the fuel will be replaced. In addition to normal periodic maintenance tasks and refueling, the most significant work on both units this year is the modernization of high-pressure turbines and replacement of main transformer and generator breaker.

A total of 950 external contractors are involved in Loviisa’s annual outage and ongoing modernization projects. There are approximately 500 Fortum employees and some 100 permanent contractors working at Loviisa.

UK Nuclear Power Project Faces new Delays, Hurdles

July 29

SYLVIE CORBET

Associated Press

PARIS (AP) – A major nuclear power project in Britain is facing more hurdles as the government announced an unexpected delay and unions at EDF, the French energy firm that will build the plant, argued it would be so expensive as to put the company itself at risk.

French unions say the 24-billion-euro ($27 billion) project, which the EDF board approved late Thursday, is far too high and could go over-budget. The French government, which pushed for the project and owns a majority stake in EDF, didn’t comment on the company’s decision.

Three major French unions said in a statement Friday “we know the success conditions are not all met” for the Hinkley Point power plant project. They have taken legal action against EDF’s management to repeal the decision and delay the project. The court decision is expected on Sept. 22.

EDF faces harsh criticism over the cost of the project, with some observers saying the company might not be solid enough to face the investment effort.

French unions also pointed out “technical uncertainties” as the British project is based on a new technology called EPR, which has yet to go online anywhere in the world.

Similar projects currently under construction in France and Finland are years behind schedule and face billions of dollars in cost overruns.

In Britain, speculation grew about the project’s future after the British government announced it will take time -at least until early autumn- to consider the details of the project.

The British GMB union immediately denounced it as “unnecessary hesitation” putting 25,000 new jobs at risk. “It is a gross error of judgment and must be reversed,” GMB national secretary for energy Justin Bowden said.

The Confederation of British Industry welcomed EDF’s green light. Josh Hardie, the business lobby’s deputy director-general, stressed that “action is needed on key infrastructure projects” such as Hinkley Point.

The two reactors could ultimately produce 7 percent of British electricity, according to EDF.

The French company is to build the plant in conjunction with Chinese state-owned company CGN, which takes one third of the cost of construction.

CGN said in a statement it “respects” the British government’s “need to familiarize itself with a project as important to the UK’s future energy security”.

KHNP to Supply Experts for UAE Nuclear Plant Project

July 25

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) agreed to send additional nuclear plant personnel to the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant project in the United Arab Emirates.

KHNP and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) signed an operating supports services agreement where KHNP will supply main control room operators and local operators to support ENEC’s operating unit, Nawah Energy Co. KHNP is supplying four APR-1400 nuclear reactors for the project, slated to begin operations in 2020.

As part of the agreement, an estimated 400 KHNP experts will support operations at Barakah every year until 2030. The workers must pass regulatory exams to be licensed to operate and manage the APR-1400 reactors in the UAE under regulations of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

“We are entering a crucial phase in the development of the Barakah plant and we are looking forward to working with the experts from KHNP to ensure the operational readiness of the Barakah plant,” said ENEC CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi.

Construction of the four reactors is more than 66 percent complete.

Compliance is driving growth for nuclear temperature sensors and condition monitoring technology, says Sébastien Ozenda, nuclear division manager for control and instrumentation specialists CMR Group, who considers the role instrumentation is playing in the supply chain.

The nuclear energy market is driven by compliance and with governments around the world committed to the view that nuclear energy has an important role to play in delivering their countries long term requirements for secure, low carbon and affordable energy futures, the amount of regulation can only increase alongside effective and well-resourced regulatory bodies to protect the environment and society from the hazards of nuclear power.

Against such a backdrop, instrumentation is playing an important role in the nuclear supply chain, very high on the radar of customers, who want to know more about how the technology can solve their problems and add value throughout the engineering supply chain. While cost is a factor during negotiation stages, the most important aspect always remains compliance with domestic nuclear safety authorities, who provide regulation and technical approval.

Nowadays, the consideration of technology is far more important than in past years, and totally different. For example, most of the nuclear power station operators have created instrumentation departments to reflect the changing times and priorities which oversees the development and progress of all its nuclear instrumentation related projects. In this context, and on the back of its experience of supplying the sector since the 1980s, CMR has taken the strategic decision to step-up the scope of its new product development work in compliance with new nuclear rules requirements.

Sensors for nuclear applications have traditionally been relatively simple devices with known performance properties and predetermined failure characteristics. However, we are seeing an industry that’s increasingly moving towards ‘smart sensors’ that can achieve greater accuracy, better noise filtering as well as better on-line calibration and featuring the latest diagnostic capability. So, given the potential benefits of smart technology, it remains important for the nuclear industry to develop a suitable approach for justifying the application and integration of smart condition monitoring technology into wider systems that are safety critical.

In addition, smart, better connected products offer opportunities for new functionality, far greater reliability, higher product utilisation, and value added capabilities that cut across and transcend traditional product boundaries. The changing nature of products is also affecting value chains, forcing nuclear operators to rethink their requirements while reshaping industry boundaries and creating new opportunities through ‘smarter’ connectivity.

So in a compliance driven sector, is product differentiation important? Successful differentiation in the nuclear sector relies on an incisive understanding before developing and positioning your products. With over 30 years’ sector experience CMR has moved to meet customer needs with a suite high performance, high quality precision sensors that are being utilised to cover all applications and compliance standards.

For EDF, the development of new condition monitoring sensors encompassed specific ambient conditions and qualification requirements, which involved extensive analysis to identify product performance criteria before moving towards final product design and commission. This led to our nuclear temperature sensors being certified compliant for not just one specific project but as many as possible being developed by the nuclear giant. This approach breaks with that taken by others within the sector – and is a strength that provides real added value differentiation in a competitive market.

It’s also something that we can take into the global marketplace. France is a primary market but our strategy will also be applicable to other countries investing in their nuclear infrastructures, where it will gain increasing traction for us as new facilities come on stream and existing plants adopt new condition monitoring technologies to improve or extend their operational life span.

We are seeing nuclear power proliferation around the world in China, South Korea, USA, Canada, India, Japan and the EU, heralding opportunities for our K3 or K3ad sensors. These are environmentally compliant for the ambient temperature monitoring of fluid, gas and bearing temperatures and will compete for market share in an industry where there are only a handful of manufacturers designing and producing qualified instruments.

A growing presence with new contracts in China and South Korea will see order book growth as the needs of each country’s regulatory authority are met with compliant-ready technology.

Against the backdrop of a transitioning global nuclear industry, the future for companies who have a defined strategy supported by experience and technical expertise, has to be seen as strong. Our ambition is to be qualified to meet the highest compliance requirements in the nuclear sector. CMR’s ambitions are clear – we want to become an international leader in the sector, providing the same standards of quality and approval that we already deliver to French and EU markets to global customers.

Matt Lawrence, senior director of solutions at Doble Engineering Co.

Cybersecurity is a top concern for utilities and power companies – the Ukraine grid cyberattack late last year was a wake-up call to take the matter seriously. With the number of devices and connection points to the grid increasing every day, the chance for a breach is much higher than ever before, and so are the stakes.

Laptops and removable storage media such as USB thumb drives are among the weakest links in grid security, since both can bring malicious software into protected substation environments. Regulators have taken notice: the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has developed new critical infrastructure protection (CIP) requirements for transient cyber assets and removable media that are designed to prevent these kinds of breaches.

Starting in April 2017, anyone who works on a utility or power company’s medium or high impact system, including contractors, needs to comply with the standards and use locked-down devices to prevent unauthorized access points to the network. Companies need to take steps now in order to avoid serious regulatory and financial consequences.

The new NERC CIP requirements: What they entail and the impact on the industry

The new CIP-010-2 R4 requirement for transient cyber assets and removable media affects laptops used in substations. Companies will need to transform their laptops into “locked-down” devices in order to comply with the new regulations. The particular guidelines utilities will need to comply with by April 2017 include:

• Transient cyber asset management: Teams must manage the transient cyber asset individually or by group in an ongoing manner to ensure compliance with applicable requirements at all times, particularly before connection to a BES cyber system.
• Transient cyber asset authorization: For each transient cyber asset, teams must authorize users, locations and uses, which are limited to what is necessary to perform business functions.
• Software vulnerability mitigation: Teams must use one or a combination of methods to mitigate vulnerabilities and risks posed by unpatched software on the transient cyber asset, including security patching, system hardening and using a live operating system and software executable only from read-only media.
• Introduction of malicious code mitigation: Teams should use antivirus software and application whitelisting to mitigate malicious code from entering substation environments.
• Unauthorized use mitigation: Teams should restrict physical access, use full-disk encryption with authentication and multi-factor authentication to mitigate risk of unauthorized use of transient cyber assets.

The goal of these requirements is to protect control centers and substations from malware and other cybersecurity threats. Violations may result in penalties of up to $1 million per day per incident.

How to prepare: Four steps for compliance

There are several steps companies can take now to prepare for the new requirements and avoid hefty legal and financial consequences. Success starts with safeguarding your transient cyber assets by having special purpose laptops or tablets that are only used for testing – this will ensure your devices are secured and locked-down without interfering with the test interface. Replacing thumb drives with a safe alternative, such as secure network data transfer technology from a test laptop or tablet, will retain all the data transfer capability of removable media without bringing outside risk. Other immediate actions to take include:

1. Understand the requirements and how they impact you. Knowing how each requirement affects your company and what you need to do to ensure compliance is crucial. This will set the stage for the specific actions your organization needs to take.
2. Make sure everyone in the company knows what’s expected. It’s not just full-time employees or executives who will need to adhere to the new rules — everyone coming into the company, even contractors, will need to follow the new NERC CIP standards. From a liability standpoint, the company is the responsible entity and needs to ensure compliance of everyone that works under them to avoid getting fined.
3. Implement a robust, holistic cybersecurity policy across the company. Many companies are just hardening a laptop, but that only addresses some of the requirements and may be out of compliance if necessary updates to the laptop aren’t applied regularly. Teams need to integrate cybersecurity measures into everything they do. Developing a cybersecurity program with clearly articulated policies, plans and evidence of compliance is a great place to start. The program should also define roles, appropriately authorize users and manage and track transient devices to help protect your assets.
4. Create a long-term plan for success. Operations and tools considered customary now, like USB drives for transferring data, may not be available to teams down the road in light of the cybersecurity risks they carry. Asking a lot of questions and working together to find solutions will be critical for compliance. Success means looking at both the short and long term — updating software and making sure its approved and reviewed by third-party experts– might be one of the steps companies take immediately to meet the new requirements in the short term, but it’s also important to understand how complying with these new rules tie back to your company’s business objectives.

The new NERC CIP requirements are designed to meet the rapidly evolving technology demands of the power industry, while still ensuring grid reliability. The risks of non-compliance are high and companies need to start taking steps now in order to meet the enforcement deadlines. These guidelines will change the way teams work from the field to the office. To really be successful and compliant, you can’t put a Band-Aid on the issue by hardening laptops and focusing on avoiding fines. You need a holistic, proactive approach to cybersecurity that integrates into all your business processes and protects your critical testing data.

Unlike programmable logic controllers, DCS use a suite of configuration tools to set up the database, control logic, graphics and system security. Control applications are distributed to system controllers that are dedicated to specific plant processes utilizing field devices. Control logic can be created and dispersed across the system controllers. This allows changes that must be made to meet new requirements and/or the addition of new controllers or field devices, to be made efficiently and accurately, easing and simplifying updates and new equipment integration.

The controllers and associated inputs/outputs are connected through a redundant communications network to operating and engineering stations. The stations have graphical, easy-to-use displays for data monitoring, data logging, alarming and control. Field devices, such as actuators and sensors, are directly connected to input/output modules that communicate with assigned controllers while reading and reporting real world information, such as pressure and temperature.

DCS are scalable. A DCS can be deployed in an initial installation as a large, integrated system, or as a standalone system that can be added to as planned or needed. New controllers and inputs/outputs can be added throughout a plant. When new systems are added, they become part of the integrated DCS and are automatically updated by the controlling database.

The Westinghouse DCS of choice is the Ovation® DCS platform. The Ovation DCS has the ability to integrate system security models and cybersecurity, advanced alarm capabilities, system-wide diagnostics and multiple simulation solutions that are extended to every new system added. There is redundancy at all levels, from the inputs/outputs to the controllers, at the network level and to the user interface workstations. Operating experience from more than 3,000 power generation installations worldwide has demonstrated system reliabilities in excess of 99.9 percent. The system is also favored for its forward design. It uses many commercially available, off-the-shelf technologies. This facilitates a secure, powerful architecture that avoids obsolescence by enabling system progression to adjust to rapidly advancing computer technologies. Deployment to operating and new nuclear units solidifies a 25 year working forward compatibility.

Exelon partnered with Westinghouse to design and commission a digital electro-hydraulic control (DEHC) system for the Limerick Generating Station Unit 1 boiling water reactor (BWR), a first-time application of the Westinghouse Ovationâ„¢ system for control, protection and monitoring of the main turbine and pressure control in a BWR. The work was also completed on Limerick Unit 2.

Unit 1 and Unit 2 began commercial operation in 1986 and 1990, respectively, with mechanical overspeed trip devices and an electrical backup overspeed trip system. Each BWR unit had been uprated to a reactor thermal power of 3,515 MWt, with a rated electrical power output of 1,245 MWe. The original high-pressure turbine and three low-pressure turbines had been replaced with turbines during the 1998-1999 time period, but had been operating with the original analog EHC system.

Limerick Unit 2 front standard before installation. All photos courtesy of Westinghouse Electric Co.

To address the issues of analog control system obsolescence, reliability, maintainability and monitorability, power plants started to upgrade their turbine control systems in the late 1990s using various digital platforms. Typically, the turbine original equipment manufacturers performed the digital system upgrades, but in recent years, utilities have looked to third parties, who have gained the necessary expertise to compete and have successfully implemented DEHC upgrades.

The analog EHC system in Limerick Unit 1 was replaced with a Westinghouse DEHC system during the spring 2014 outage. The Unit 2 EHC system was then replaced and began operation in early May 2015.

Limerick Unit 2 front standard after installation – back fit into the existing turbine configuration.

A dynamic model of the Limerick BWR was used to develop control system logic, alarms, and operator interface graphics; to test the application software; and for factory acceptance testing. The integration of the dynamic model and the control software running in the distributed control system development system allowed verification of system design functions, operator reviews and validation of system operability, operating procedure development and Westinghouse testing of the system with full customer engagement prior to system installation.

Additionally, the existing turbine mechanical overspeed trip devices in the turbine front standard were replaced with a separate and diverse on-line testable two-out-of-three overspeed trip system and speed sensors. A pair of redundant hydraulic trip blocks was used for tripping the turbine to provide on-line testability of the trip solenoids and trip block operability.

Digital electro-hydraulic control monitor in the main control room.

The installation of certain equipment and cable runs were completed with the plant on-line, with no impact on the outage schedule. The demolition of existing analog equipment, control panel modifications in the main control room (MCR), front standard modifications and modification acceptance testing were completed during the actual 2014 outage. Finally, power ascension testing with the new system installed was performed.

A team approach between utility, vendor and sub-suppliers was used. The team included experienced personnel from both Exelon and Westinghouse who know the plant design, problems, interfaces and processes. Key stakeholders were included from day one.

The team built a mock-up to the same size to ensure that they could complete the work within 10 days.

Lessons learned from Limerick past projects and Westinghouse past and ongoing turbine control projects were applied to the Unit 1 upgrade, which went very well. Several hundred additional lessons learned from the Unit 1 upgrade were recorded in great detail for application to the Unit 2 upgrade, and tracked to completion through a weekly action items process. The result was the normal contract requirement that allows a 10-day window for installation of all equipment was reduced to eight and a half days for Unit 2.

Exelon and Westinghouse partnered again to upgrade Exelon’s Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station during the November 2015 outage. Westinghouse also will use this same control system in its AP1000® nuclear power plants currently being built in the United States and China.

There are approximately 7,304 operational power plants in the United States utilizing diverse technologies such as gas, coal, wind, solar, hydro and nuclear. All of these power facilities ultimately support 124 million households.

Reliability and safety are key drivers for power plant operators. Having just spent a week in India, I found that most locals are accustomed to disruptions in service. In fact, we experienced outages on almost a daily basis.

I’d like to take this opportunity to lead a brief dive into nuclear power. As you may know, there are 438 nuclear plants in operation around the world, 61 of which are located in the U.S. Nuclear power has been part of the grid since 1954.

We are all familiar with the three biggest nuclear accidents: Three Mile Island in 1979; Chernobyl in 1986; and Fukushima in 2011. Unfortunately, there have been at least 99 accidents since 1954 that resulted in loss of life or damages in excess of $50,000. Since the Fukushima incident, a 12-mile exclusion zone circles the power plant and people have limited access to the site. Ultimately, 50,000 households and 156,000 people were permanently displaced.

An NRC task force investigated the Fukushima incident and ultimately concluded that current operating standards “do not pose an imminent risk to public safety and health,” which to me is a roundabout way of saying “we’re doing it right.” However, the task force did pull together a list of over 10 new recommendations as a result of Fukushima. Some of those include strengthening defenses against flooding and earthquakes, and hardening vents that carry away hydrogen gas from damaged reactor cores. Backup electric power for extending plant’s capabilities to project reactors and spent fuel was another of the recommendations that was a result of this investigation.

Highlighting the worst nuclear incident in 25 years illustrates the worldwide commitment to safe, responsible generation. Operators use advanced equipment to monitor their reactors 24 hours a day. Located in Illinois, for example, the Dresden Generating Station has been in continuous operation since 1960. Its first unit, Dresden 1, was retired in 1978. Units 2 and 3 — two GE BWR-3 reactors — have been in operation since 1970. This plant safely generates power for over one million households. Its staff have taken reactors offline as necessary when, for example, it detects elevated water levels in a reactor.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission provides regulatory oversight for plants like Dresden. This framework has three major pillars: Reactor Safety; Radiation Safety and Safeguards. Key staff are rigorously trained in segments that include initiating events, mitigating systems, barrier integrity, emergency preparedness, public radiation safety, occupational radiation safety, and physical protection.

There are currently more than 15 applications for new nuclear power facilities. Proposed sites are in Texas, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina and other states. The last newly built reactor in the U.S. came online in 1996. The next reactor, Watts Bar 2, will enter service in mid-2016 in Tennessee. This $4.7 billion unit has undergone several design modifications, all of which were spurred by the Fukushima incident.

We predict the commissioning of more nuclear power plants in the United States over the next 20 years. Currently nuclear accounts for 20 percent of all U.S. generation, the third highest source. Coal, the top source, generates 40 percent of our power, but is projected to decrease over the next 20 years. Safety training will continue to play a key role in the nuclear sector to ensure adherence to protocols and regulations that have been in place for over 50 years. In addition to the onsite training that the power companies provide, the NRC provides an ongoing list of training courses on topics that include environmental monitoring and materials control and security systems.

John Ryan is managing director and the U.S. regional vice president for TRANSEARCH International, a global retained executive search firm. He currently serves as the Global Practice Leader for Power, Renewable Energy and Cleantech.