Schaeffler (China) President Visited Qilin Company(2008-12-22) ZWZ Testing Center Passed Retrial of CNAS(2008-12-15) Job Vacancy in China from Boca Bearing Company(2008-12-10) Leeport Becomes Sole Agent of Safan in China(2008-12-05) The 9th CILOGRTE Held in Shanghai(2008-11-29) Energy will be pushing small and medium-sized wind power project(2008-11-20) The wind farm in Guanacaste will receive additional investment(2008-11-10) It will be installed a wind farm with private investment(2008-11-10) Origin Energy to buy power from Acciona''s Waubra wind farm(2008-11-05) HOW-TO: Make a vertical-axis wind turbine for $300(2008-11-05) Shenyang Machine Tool Forecasts an Annual Loss for 2008(2008-11-03) "Wind power" rapid expansion of the national goal two years ahead of schedule(2008-10-25) EU 1,000,000,000 euros investment in the development of new energy industry(2008-10-22) On the grid with wind farms out of the clearance operation(2008-10-16) Wind power resources to each other enterprises competing for quality investment(2008-10-16) Rolling bearing commodity inspection and acceptance(2008-10-13) The intense interest in the development of the Northern Cape manganese deposits(2008-09-04) People have remodeling jobsoften dispose of their trash on private property(2008-09-04) Ishiyamadera temple became popular with women inpart because of its proximity(2008-09-04) Limestone hills in Ma-laysia tend to have shallow soil cove(2008-09-04)The PBMR project involves building both the demonstration reactorproject at Koeberg near Cape Town and a plant at Pelindaba nearPretoria, where the pebble fuel will be manufactured.
The PBMR demonstration power plant will supply about 165 MWe(electrical mega watts) to SA's national grid once in service.
The joint venture, called Murray & Roberts SNC-Lavalin Nuclear,completed phase one of the project in June 2008. Work on phase twobegan in July 2008 with an expected date of completion of thedemonstration plant in September 2014.
During phase two, a commercial scale power plant at Koeberg will bebuilt. This is still subject to obtaining a nuclear licence fromthe National Nuclear Regulator and a positive environmental impactassessment.
But, at Murray & Roberts' year-end results presentation onThursday, CEO Brian Bruce hinted that this might happen soon.
The PBMR is a new type of high temperature helium gas-coolednuclear reactor, which builds on world-wide nuclear operators'experience of older reactor designs.
The main advantages of the technology are that it is relativelysafe, that it has a modular design and a short construction time.
"One reactor can be built in 36 months," said Bruce.
One of the features of these reactors is that attributes natural tothe processes of nuclear energy generation are used to enhancesafety features.
Eskom wants nuclear
According to state-owned utility Eskom, about 30 000 homes could besustained by the power that one reactor produces.
"More than one PBMR can be located in a facility thus creatingenergy parks. It is possible for a PBMR energy park to be made upof a maximum of 10 modules which share a common controlcentre," according to Eskom.
This system allows sequential construction of modules to matchusers' growth requirements; as the area grows, so more modules canbe added to meet the industrial and domestic needs for electricityin an area
According to Eskom, a single PBMR reactor would consist typicallyof a single main building, covering an area of 1 300 square metres."This area is far less than the area covered by a rugby fieldor even a soccer field."
The building would have a height of 42m. A part of the structuremight be below ground level - depending on the bedrock formationsas the building would sit on bedrock. The part of the building thatwould be visible above ground is equivalent to a six-storeybuilding.
A unit control room, a high voltage switchyard, and a cooling towerfor inland facilities and a sea pump-house for coastal facilitiesare planned.
Ten PBMR reactors, which would produce about 1 100 MW, would occupyan area of no more than three football fields.
"These relatively small power stations would be versatile andflexible. They could be erected anywhere where there is a steadyand ready supply of water. They could be used as base-load stationsor load following stations, and could be adjusted to the sizerequired by the communities they serve," said the powerutility.
Improve reliability
Eskom added that by building a PBMR energy park near a base-loadcentre, such as a town or an energy intense manufacturing area suchas the Hillside aluminium smelter in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eskom would beable to improve the reliability of the electricity supply tolocations that are currently remote from existing power stations.
Eskom has been investigating the PBMR option since 1993. At thistime, Eskom began its Integrated Electricity Plan (IEP), whichexamines on an on-going basis the supply of electricity on one handand the expected demand for electricity on the other.
When Eskom was faced by a situation where power demand exceededsupply in early 2008, scheduled blackouts disrupted SA's economy atan estimated cost of R50bn, according to the National EnergyRegulator of South Africa (Nersa).
In June this year, cabinet approved the country's nuclear policy. -Fin24.com