GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) on Monday announced the successful completion of its first services outage at a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) facility.
The outage, which was completed in partnership with Exelon Generation at the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, New York, was completed under budget and ahead of schedule with no safety-related or human performance issues, the company said.
“The scope of work conducted by GEH was completed 26 hours ahead of schedule. This performance, combined with Exelon’s outstanding efforts, led to the shortest outage in the 45-year history of the Ginna plant,” said Jay Wileman, president and chief executive officer at GEH.
“The successful execution of our portion of this outage demonstrates our ability to provide PWR operators with the same level of project management expertise and technical rigor that our BWR customers have come to expect," Wileman said in a statement.
GEH said their team included more than 300 years total in collective experience servicing PWRs in a variety of functions including project management, planning, supervision, fuel movement and vessel disassembly and reassembly. Prior to the start of the outage team members were trained at an Exelon facility in accordance with the utility’s standards.
The Exelon team was recently recognized for these outstanding efforts by the Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE), a group sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA) that focuses on radiation protection of professionals in the nuclear industry and national regulatory authorities. ISOE presented the Ginna team with a 2015 World Class ALARA Performance Award.
PWRs account for roughly two-thirds of nuclear reactors operating globally and represent a significant opportunity for GEH, the first company to connect a nuclear reactor to the commercial electricity grid in Vallecitos, California in 1957. As the original equipment manufacturer of more than 60 boiling water reactors (BWRs) globally, GEH currently services and fuels many BWRs in operation today. The company, based in Wilmington, N.C., said it intends to introduce advanced services offerings to enhance PWR outage performance.
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