Switzerland: AREVA to renew reactor circulation system at Leibstadt power plant

AREVA and Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG (KKL) signed a contract on the exchange and modernization of the reactor circulation system at the nuclear power plant Leibstadt in Switzerland. The aim of this project is to enhance the system availability and to use the nuclear fuel even more efficiently by an increased circulation rate during the end of the fuel cycle.

The first preparatory work will start as from 2012. The lion´s share of the measures linked to the modernization of the 1165 MW Boiling Water Reactor’s circulation system is scheduled for the plant outage in 2015. “We are happy to have the optimum partner with the optimum concept for this challenging project”, says Dr. Andreas Pfeiffer, KKL Power Plant Manager.

The contract also includes the optimization of the reactor power control by replacing the analogue technology with digital Instrumentation & Control (I&C) systems. In addition, pipes will be reworked to reduce the number of welding seams and shock suppressors in order to simplify repeated inspections. Moreover, state-of-the-art medium voltage variable speed drives will be installed for an optimized adjustment of the reactor core flow.

Philippe Samama, Executive Vice President of AREVA’s Installed Base business unit, added: “The signing of the contract is an important milestone for AREVA along the road to a continued successful, long-term cooperation with our customer to further ensure an optimal level of safety and reliability of its existing plants”.