I IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Power Newsletter A newsletter of the Division of Nuclear Power Vol. 3, No. 3, Special Issue, September 2006 ISSN 1816-9295 http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/NENP/index.html Contents The IAEA’s Contribution to the Peaceful • IAEA’s Contribution to Use of Nuclear Power Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power Ratan K. Sinha by Mr. Sinlia 1 Chairman of INPRO steering committee and Member of SAG-NE • IAEA’s Contribution to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power by Mr. Tipping 3 Since its inception fifty years ago, the IAEA has been discharging its role as an international body entrusted with • Message from the Director 4 the responsibility for channelising the exploitation of the • Nuclear Power Plant Operating great potential of atomic energy for the welfare of mankind. Performance and Life Cycle This role, as defined in its statute, includes several activities Management 6 associated with the promotion of research, development, application and safety of atomic energy for peaceful uses • Improving Organizational throughout the world. Performance 9 The Agency has been very effective in promoting the exchange of information, co ­ • Coordination of INPRO 14 operative research and technical co-operation among its member states in the multiple • Technology Development for thematic, technological and institutional areas relevant to nuclear power. The IAEA Advanced Reactors 16 Safety Standards have become the main reference for the development of national regulatory documents in many countries. The information exchange activities have • Support for contributed to the creation of a wealth of knowledge, available in the form of well- Non-Electric Applications of documented reports on several aspects of nuclear power. A recently published Nuclear Power 21 TECDOC, for example, provides a very well-structured description of the design trends for twenty-six innovative small and medium reactors with on-site refueling. The Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) have immensely helped in the upgrading of knowledge in several areas of the nuclear power technology. The outcomes of such CRTs, for example, have ranged from the development of better models of Division of Nuclear Power thermohydraulic phenomena and inter-comparison of computer codes, to the inter ­ Department of Nuclear Energy comparison of techniques for pressure tube inspection and diagnostics — an exercise IAEA that required movement of pressure tube samples across the boundaries of several P.O. Box 100 participating Member States. In the area of reactor design too, several CRTs have Wagramer Strasse 5, provided valuable inputs to the designers. One of the on-going CRTs, for example, A-1400 Vienna, Austria addresses validation, verification and improvement of methodologies and computer Tel : +43 1 2600 22751 codes used for the calculation of reactivity coefficients in liquid metal fast reactors. Fax: +43 1 2600 29598 The free availability of practically all the publications arising out of these activities on the IAEA web site has greatly benefited the entire nuclear community. Throughout the eventful history of nuclear power in the world, the activities of the IAEA have been consistent with the expressed needs of the world community. Today the world seems to be at the threshold of a nuclear renaissance. Nuclear Power Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 3, Special Issue, September 2006 Considering the progressive depletion of fossil fuel Figure-1). The issues related to the large-scale reserves, and the urgent need for addressing the global deployment of nuclear power with a multi-fold increase warming related concerns, nuclear energy is expected to in the number of reactors and associated fuel cycle emerge as a major option to substantially contribute to facilities can be addressed only with innovative meeting the future global energy needs. The trend of the technologies and institutional arrangements. The Agency data provided in the Human Development Report 2005, has already envisaged this challenge and initiated the suggests that a per capita electricity consumption of at International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and least 5000 kWh/year is needed for reaching a state of Fuel Cycles (INPRO). The future activities of the moderately high human development. With this Agency should serve to facilitate the development of the stipulation, together with the expectation that at least half innovative solutions required to meet the multiple of the total energy demand may need to be met with challenges inherent in the projected scale of deployment nuclear, a simple calculation shows that the world may of nuclear power throughout the world. These solutions eventually need between 3000 to 4000 nuclear power should include deployment of proliferation resistant reactors of different capacities for electricity generation. technologies together with a robust framework for The number may at least double with the use of nuclear international cooperation, to address both proliferation energy to provide an alternative to fluid fossil fuels, in and fuel supply concerns. The criteria for the safety, the form of hydrogen and synthetic liquid fuels, for including environmental safety, for these systems should transportation applications. The goal of attaining such a be consistent with the increase in the number of nuclear large population of nuclear power reactors is facilities, and should address a possible need to locate independent of any projected scenario for growth; these facilities close to population centers, in accordance although a scenario will help in estimating the time when with siting rules generally applicable to conventional the goal can be reached. It is also worth noting that a major industrial facilities. Economic competitiveness is a large number of these reactors may need to be located in function of time-frame, geographical region and regions with high population densities. application area of deployment. Logically, therefore, the Although there is an inevitable need to substantially innovative systems should be economic enough to enhance the global reach and volume of nuclear power facilitate their early and wide deployment. deployment for a wide variety of applications, the fact The challenges associated with the various aspects of remains that since 1985 the spread of nuclear power to global expansion of nuclear power growth are thus quite new countries has remained dormant, with no further substantial. In this context, a crisp and focused goal, that addition to the number of countries with nuclear power would be of a high priority for many developing reactors either under construction or in operation (see countries, with large unfulfilled energy demands and high population densities, was expressed as an ambitious 1982 1985 33 Countries vision by me, in the recently held 9th INPRO Steering Romania China since 1985 Committee meeting, in the following words: 32 Countries since 1996 “Four decades from now, in any country of the world, it (/) o <D (0 should be possible to start replacing fossil fuelled power E <D plants, at the same urban or semi-urban site where these are located, with advanced NPPs that would, more -------First reactoroperation economically, deliver at least twice the power that was -------First reactorconstruction being produced by the replaced plants' ’. The IAEA has a very important future role to play in Source: PRIS, L4EA achieving the timely realisation of such a vision for the 2000 2010 benefit of mankind. Figure-1: Time line of thegrowth in number of countries with nu­ clear power reactors 2 Nuclear Power Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 3, Special Issue, September 2006 Philip Tipping Chairman of IAEA Technical Working Gronp-LMNPP Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate Commercial exploitation of nuclear inspection and monitoring, many nuclear power plants power has just passed the 50-year can justifiably continue to operate safely for a significant mark, and right from the start, the number of years after expiry of the design lifetime or IAEA Division of Nuclear Power, original licence particularly if they have established Department of Nuclear Energy has appropriate plant life management (PLiM) programmes. followed the evolution of the A plant life management programme is the integrated peaceful use of nuclear power. programme of nuclear power plant ageing management Concerns for the environment, as programmes and economic planning to maintain a high well as political issues associated with the supply and level of safety, optimize the operation, maintenance and costs of fossil-based energy sources, are becoming service life of SSCs, maintain an acceptable level of increasingly important to the world's ecological and performance (nuclear power plant availability), maximize economical development. return on investment over the service life of the nuclear Continuous improvement to nuclear power plant systems, power plant and to provide nuclear power plant structures and components (SSCs) has taken place over operators/owners/utilities with optimum pre-conditions to the years. Experience in nuclear power plant operation, achieve this. benefits taken from on-going research and also the PLiM programmes, which may be combined with power exchange of information has resulted in a mature, reliable up-rates, are going to be future core features of those and cost-effective industry. Notwithstanding, there still nuclear power plants going for long term operation. It remains much to be done in order