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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Its functions include overseeing reactor safety and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing radioactive materials, radionuclide safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of spent fuel.
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation, control and design of nuclear power plants. Westinghouse's world headquarters are located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. Brookfield Business Partners is the majority owner of Westinghouse.
The EPR is a third generation pressurised water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome and Électricité de France (EDF) in France, and Siemens in Germany. In Europe this reactor design was called European Pressurised Reactor, and the internationalised name was Evolutionary Power Reactor, but it is now simply named EPR.
The advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is a Generation III boiling water reactor. The ABWR is currently offered by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Toshiba. The ABWR generates electrical power by using steam to power a turbine connected to a generator; the steam is boiled from water using heat generated by fission reactions within nuclear fuel. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 6 is considered the first Generation III reactor in the world.
Nuclear energy policy is a national and international policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle, such as uranium mining, ore concentration, conversion, enrichment for nuclear fuel, generating electricity by nuclear power, storing and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, and disposal of radioactive waste.
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve its economics.
Nuclear power is the largest source of electricity in France, with a generation of 379.5 TWh, or 70.6% of the country's total electricity production of 537.7 TWh, the highest percentage in the world.
Nuclear power plants currently operate in 32 countries. Most are in Europe, North America, East Asia and South Asia. The United States is the largest producer of nuclear power, while France has the largest share of electricity generated by nuclear power. Due to an existing policy based on energy security, France obtains about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. A newly implemented policy mandates that the country will shift to receive 50% of its electricity from nuclear by 2035. In 2010, before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, it was reported that an average of about 10 nuclear reactors were expected to become operational per year, although according to the World Nuclear Association, of the 17 civilian reactors planned to become operational between 2007 and 2009, only five actually came on stream. Global nuclear electricity generation in 2012 was at its lowest level since 1999.
Korea Electric Power Corporation, better known as KEPCO or Hanjeon, is the largest electric utility in South Korea, responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the development of electric power projects including those in nuclear power, wind power and coal. KEPCO, through its subsidiaries, is responsible for 93% of Korea's electricity generation as of 2011. The South Korean government owns a 51.11% share of KEPCO. Together with its affiliates and subsidiaries, KEPCO has an installed capacity of 65,383 MW. On the 2011 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's largest companies, KEPCO was ranked 271. KEPCO is a member of the World Energy Council, the World Nuclear Association and the World Association of Nuclear Operators. As of August 2011, KEPCO possesses an A+ credit rating with Fitch Ratings, while Moody's has assigned KEPCO an A1 stable rating.
Nuclear power is a major power source in South Korea, providing 29% of the country's electricity. The total electrical generation capacity of the nuclear power plants of South Korea is 20.5 GWe from 23 reactors, equivalent to 22% of South Korea's total electrical generation capacity.
The Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant was Japan's first commercial nuclear power plant. The first unit was built in the early 1960s to the British Magnox design, and generated power from 1966 until it was decommissioned in 1998. A second unit, built at the site in the 1970s, was the first in Japan to produce over 1000 MW of electricity. The site is located in Tokai in the Naka District in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and is operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company. The total site area amounts to 0.76 km2 with 0.33 km2, or 43% of it, being green area that the company is working to preserve.
The Mitsubishi advanced pressurized water reactor (APWR) is a generation III nuclear reactor design developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) based on pressurized water reactor technology. It features several design enhancements including a neutron reflector, improved efficiency and improved safety systems. It has safety features advanced over the last generation, including a combination of passive and active systems. None are currently under construction.
The Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, or Wolsong, is a nuclear power plant located on the coast near Nae-ri, Yangnm-myeon, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province, South Korea. It is the only South Korean nuclear power plant operating CANDU-type PHWR. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power owns the plant. These reactors are capable of consuming multiple types of fuel, including wastes from South Korea's other nuclear plants.
Since about 2001 the term nuclear renaissance has been used to refer to a possible nuclear power industry revival, driven by rising fossil fuel prices and new concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emission limits.
The Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant is a large nuclear power station in the Jeollanam-do province of South Korea. The facility runs at an installed capacity of 5,875 MW. The power station is currently ranked as the fifth largest nuclear power station in the world. The plant's name was changed from Yeonggwang NPP to Hanbit in 2013 at the request of local fishermen.
National nuclear energy policy is a national policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy, such as mining for nuclear fuel, extraction and processing of nuclear fuel from the ore, generating electricity by nuclear power, enriching and storing spent nuclear fuel and nuclear fuel reprocessing. Nuclear energy policies often include the regulation of energy use and standards relating to the nuclear fuel cycle.
South Africa is the only country in Africa with a commercial nuclear power plant.
The Barakah nuclear power plant is the United Arab Emirates's first nuclear power station, the first nuclear power station in the Arabian Peninsula, and the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab World. It consists of four APR-1400 nuclear reactors. Total capacity is 5,600 MW which is intended to supply up to 25% of UAE's energy needs. The site is in the Gharbiya region of Abu Dhabi, on the coastline between the Persian Gulf and the E11 highway, 50 km west of Ruwais.
The OPR-1000 is a South Korean designed two-loop 1000 MWe PWR Generation II nuclear reactor, developed by KHNP and KEPCO. The OPR-1000 was originally designated as the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP), and was re-designated as the OPR-1000 in 2005 for foreign sales. It was developed based partly on the Combustion Engineering (C-E) designs, through a technology transfer agreement. The reactor core design was derived from the C-E designed Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2, the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) was derived from the C-E designed units at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and auxiliary plant design was derived from the earlier Unit-1 and Unit-2 at the Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Plant.
The APR-1400 is an advanced pressurized water nuclear reactor designed by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). Originally known as the Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR), this Generation III reactor was developed from the earlier OPR-1000 design and also incorporates features from the US Combustion Engineering (C-E) System 80+ design. Currently in South Korea there are two units in operation, and 4 units in construction. One unit is completed and in commercial operation in the United Arab Emirates at Barakah, with three more under construction at Barakah.
References
- ↑ "South Korea Approves Construction of First New Nuclear Plants after Certificate Scandal". Oilprice.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- ↑ "South Korea shuts down 2 nuclear reactors after parts scandal". CNN. 6 November 2012.
- ↑ "South Korea charges 100 with corruption over nuclear scandal". Reuters. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "S.Korea to widen safety probe on certificates for nuclear reactor parts". Reuters. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014.