Entergy plans 2005 upgrade at Arkansas nuke
Date: 15-Aug-02
Country: USA
"A new reactor vessel head will resolve Unit 1's potential susceptibility to the industry's generic ... reliability issues," Entergy said in a statement.
Earlier this month the Nuclear Regulatory Commission urged U.S. nuclear power plant operators with pressurized water reactors to inspect their reactors for cracks and leaks, after significant corrosion was found in the vessel head at the Davis Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio.
Entergy spokesman Phillip Fisher told Reuters that replacement of the steam generators is a major project that requires a large hole be cut in the reactor building, and that it also is a convenient time to replace the vessel head, which is made of an alloy that could be susceptible to cracks and leaking.
"We felt like at some point we would have to replace our reactor head and we felt like this would be an excellent opportunity to take care of both at the same time, when we had the building open," Fisher said.
Steam generators are about 75 feet in length and weigh over 500 tons. They create steam by transferring heat from water heated in the reactor to water in a secondary system, and the steam is used to spin the turbine-generator to create electricity.
Arkansas 1, with a capacity to produce 836 megawatts of power, will be shut this autumn for refueling and the vessel head will be inspected then, Fisher said.
Typically, a nuclear refueling requires the plant be shut for 30 to 35 days.
The steam generator and vessel head replacement, set for a refueling outage in the fall of 2005, would typically require that the regular refueling outage be extended, Fisher said.
The steam generators in the adjacent 858 MW Arkansas nuclear Unit 2 were replaced in 2000, Entergy said.
Arkansas 1, located in Russellville in northeast Arkansas, has been in commercial operation since 1974 and is licensed to operate until 2034, Entergy said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed Arkansas 1's operating license in 2001, adding 20 years to an authorized 40-year initial operating period.