NPP Krsko was operated at full power. At 1:00 a.m. the asymmetry of phases of electrtical current on heater drains pump motor was noted. Measurement of currents on electrical generator, as a diagnostic tool, started. An ampere-meter was connected in the protection circuit of the differential relay. When adjusting measuring range of the ampere-meter, the circuit was interrupted which caused activation of the relay and subsequently disconnection of the switchyard breaker and of the BBC breaker followed by turbine and reactor trip (power was greatger than 10%). The investigation showed that the asymmetry was caused by open disconnect switch of one phase on 400 kV power line, which serves for external power supply of the power station. After the fault was corrected, the station was connected to the electric supply system. The event was rated level 0 under the criterion defence in depth with no safety significance (Section III.-2.2.2, Table II). It was establshied that a work order together with written instruction for current measurements on generator was issued, but no measurement procedure existed.
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for artificial intelligence data centers. For those old enough […]
Kernenergie en veiligheid: A wargame sought to test if a major radiological release that would prompt the evacuation of millions of civilians in South Korea could distract key US allies from assisting and rebuffing an all-out military invasion of Taiwan. The short answer was yes. The game originally presumed that China, wanting to keep the […]
Big batteries and EVs to the rescue again as faults with new nuclear plant cause chaos on Nordic grids The Finnish nuclear power plant Olkiluoto was finally connected to the grid last year, at an estimated cost of €11 billion compared to the original budget of €3 billion. That cost blowout forced its developer, the […]
A vast subsea nuclear graveyard planned to hold Britain’s burgeoning piles of radioactive waste is set to become the biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. The project [UK's nuclear waste dump] is now predicted to take more than 150yrs to complete with lifetime costs of £66bn in today’s money...The […]
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
