AREVA NP has installed a system to automatically adjust Goesgen Swiss nuclear power plant's electricity generation to the needs of the grid operator. The successfully implemented solution varies the plant's output between 50 and 100 percent of its installed capacity, without interaction of the operator. The output adaptation can be performed with power ramps of up to 30 megawatts per minute.
AREVA NP's Advanced Load Following Control (ALFC) technology features a software upgrade of the reactor control system, adapts the relevant interfaces in the plant and comprises a comprehensive test series as well as operator training to ensure safe and proper operation.
"The intermittent electricity generation of renewable energy sources like wind and solar increases the need for balancing power. Our ALFC system enhances the capabilities of nuclear power plants to deliver such services and to perform a stabilizing role in the power grid", said Carsten Dueweke, responsible for instrumentation and control projects at AREVA NP.
"Thanks to the excellent and competent cooperation between AREVA NP and the plant teams, the project could be successfully concluded on schedule at Goesgen", summarized Peter Kulli, Deputy Head Electrical Systems at Goesgen nuclear power plant.
AREVA NP has already delivered its ALFC technology to four German nuclear power plants (Philippsburg 2, Isar 2, Brokdorf and Grohnde), the first project dates back to 2008. Further international projects are foreseen as the adaption of ALFC to other reactor designs is ongoing.
French, Belgian nuke plants vulnerable to attack: Greenpeace
International experts warned on Tuesday about security shortcomings at French and Belgian nuclear plants that make them vulnerable to attack, in a report commissioned by the Greenpeace group.
France has the second-biggest fleet of nuclear plants in the world, after the United States, with 58 reactors providing 75 percent of the country's electricity. Belgium has two.
The seven experts fr … read more
