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Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 restarted and reached criticality

Chugoku Electric Power Co. announced on August 13 that it started up the reactor of Unit 2 at the Shimane Nuclear Power Station at 10:00 that day, and the unit reached a critical state at 12:14. Unit 2 of the Shimane Nuclear Power Station is a boiling water reactor with a rated electrical output of 820,000 kilowatts. Criticality refers to the state in which nuclear fission reactions in the reactor core can be sustained, and is one of the key milestones in the unit restart process. According to the plan, the unit will resume power generation, i.e., synchronize the generator to the grid, on August 18, 2026, and is expected to resume commercial operation on September 16, 2026. Chugoku Electric Power Co. stated that it will continue to prioritize safety and steadily advance all subsequent procedures.

2026-08-13

Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 completes containment vessel-related repairs, scheduled to resume commercial operation on the 16th of next month

The Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2, located in Matsue City, Japan, is scheduled to resume commercial operation next month. Recently, part of the reactor containment vessel repair work at the unit was opened to the public, showcasing key construction steps before the resumption of operation. Unit 2 of the Shimane Nuclear Power Station resumed operation in December two years ago. Since February this year, the unit has been shut down for routine operational inspections. In accordance with relevant legal requirements, nuclear power units must undergo equipment disassembly inspections and replacement of related components within 13 months after the previous inspection is completed. On August 3, a dedicated crane was used on site to lift a cover weighing approximately 60 tons to the top of the reactor containment vessel. Workers completed the tightening of 120 bolts that day...

2026-08-13

Unit 2 of Romania's Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant Still at Risk of Shutdown

Ionel Scrioșteanu, State Secretary of Romania's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that Unit 2 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant is currently still in operation, but the risk of shutdown has not been eliminated. On August 8, Romanian authorities took emergency measures by sinking four fully loaded barges into the Danube River to raise local water levels, increasing the water intake into the plant's cooling water system to ensure the cooling needs of the reactor units. Scrioșteanu said on social media that the related actions have achieved positive results, allowing Unit 2 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant to continue operating...

2026-08-11

SPIC Nuclear Conventional Island Quality Supervision Sub-station Conducts Pre-FCD Supervision and Inspection on Unit 2 of Guangxi Bailong Nuclear Power Plant

Recently, the Nuclear Conventional Island Engineering Quality Supervision Sub-station of State Power Investment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the SPIC Sub-station) completed the first and pre-FCD quality supervision and inspection of the conventional island of Unit 2 of Phase I of the Guangxi Bailong Nuclear Power Plant. The inspection adopted a cross-supervision model, coordinated by the Nuclear Conventional Island Engineering Quality Supervision Station, with the directly affiliated project station organizing a supervision team of senior industry experts, and the SPIC Sub-station providing full coordination and support throughout the process. This initiative aims to break long-standing inertial thinking and leverage external perspectives to identify management blind spots and quality hazards that may have been overlooked. Yin Jingfeng, Executive Deputy Director of the Nuclear Conventional Island Engineering Quality Supervision Group, attended the event and made work arrangements, with project leaders from the construction unit and all participating units fully involved in the supervision and inspection.

2026-08-11

Unit 2 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Phase II automatically shut down for equipment maintenance

At 21:45 local time on August 8, 2026, Unit 2 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Phase II was shut down by the automatic system due to the need for thermal-mechanical equipment maintenance. After the maintenance work is completed, the unit will be reconnected to the grid. The shutdown was carried out in accordance with established procedures and design logic. The plant reported no violations of safe operation limits or operating conditions for any of the units. Currently, RBMK-1000 Units 3 and 4 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, as well as Unit 1 of Phase II, are operating normally and carrying electrical loads in accordance with the dispatch schedule. RBMK-1000 Units 1 and 2 are in the preparation stage for decommissioning...

2026-08-10

After only 4 days of restart, Unit 2 of France's Golfech Nuclear Power Plant shut down again due to Garonne River water temperature approaching limit

On the evening of August 8, French utility EDF (Électricité de France) once again shut down Unit 2 of the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant, just four days after the unit had been restarted. The direct cause of this shutdown was that the water temperature of the Garonne River was expected to reach 28°C on August 9, hitting the local operational limit. Since Unit 1 had already been taken offline for maintenance and fuel replacement, the closure of Unit 2 left both reactors at the Golfech plant simultaneously out of service, with the station temporarily ceasing power generation. Located in the Tarn-et-Garonne department of France, the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned between 1991 and 1994, and features two 1,300 MW pressurized water reactor units. It draws cooling water from the Garonne River and dissipates heat through natural-draft cooling towers. According to EDF dat...

2026-08-10

Unit 2 of Romania's Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant to Operate for at Least 9 More Days

Unit 2 of Romania's Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant is expected to continue operating for at least 9 more days. Romania's Acting Minister of Defense and Transport, Radu Miruță, stated that after blasting operations and the removal of underwater obstacles in the Danube River, the water level in the Cernavoda area rose by 4 centimeters over the past 24 hours. The previous day, the water level in the area had dropped by 3 centimeters. Recently, due to persistent drought, the Danube River's water level has fallen to historic lows, putting pressure on the plant's water intake and reactor cooling. To increase water supply in the river section near the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, Romania last week implemented unconventional engineering measures, including blasting a rock formation in the Danube and sinking barges loaded with cargo to alter...

2026-08-10

First Concrete Pour (FCD) Successfully Completed for the Conventional Island of Unit 2 at Guangxi Bailong Nuclear Power Plant

At 10:06 on August 9, after 38 hours and 46 minutes of continuous effort, the First Concrete Pour (FCD) for the conventional island of Unit 2 at the SPIC Guangxi Bailong Nuclear Power Plant was successfully completed, marking the full commencement of the main construction phase for the conventional island. The basement floor slab of the conventional island of Unit 2 adopts an integral raft foundation, divided into 9 construction zones using the sequence method. This concrete pour covered Zone 1, starting at 19:20 on August 7, with a cumulative pour of 1,732 cubic meters of concrete, conducted safely and orderly throughout the process. Since July, Typhoon Maysak directly struck Fangchenggang, bringing successive storms, followed by days of high temperatures at the Bailong nuclear site, posing significant challenges to on-site construction. In response...

2026-08-10

South Korea's Taesung advances order for Unit 2 of US TerraPower SMR, pivoting to new track in nuclear power and gas turbine forgings

South Korean open-die forging company Taesung is accelerating its entry into the small modular reactor (SMR) supply chain. Data shows that Taesung secured its first order in June this year for rotating plug components of the primary equipment for Unit 1 of US-based TerraPower's SMR, and is expected to advance follow-up orders for related components of Unit 2 of the same project in September. The rotating plug is installed on the upper section of the reactor to support nuclear fuel replacement and in-vessel equipment maintenance, requiring high material resistance to high temperatures and radiation, as well as large-scale forging capabilities. This order therefore not only carries revenue significance but also demonstrates the company's technical validation value in the high-end nuclear power forging segment. TerraPower, founded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is developing...

2026-08-07

Radiation detector malfunction at Unit 2 of Japan's Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant causes hundreds of abnormal reading fluctuations

Tohoku Electric Power Company of Japan announced on August 6 that a detection equipment malfunction occurred at Unit 2 of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, located in Onagawa Town and Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. The issue involved detectors used to measure radiation levels in the main steam lines, which transport steam generated by the reactor to the turbine. Among the four detectors, one displayed readings in the central control room that surged and dropped sharply, repeating hundreds of times. Based on publicly available information, Tohoku Electric has classified this incident as a detector malfunction rather than an abnormal release of radioactive materials or a sudden change in reactor operating conditions. The company stated that the situation does not constitute a problem under security regulations, meaning that from...

2026-08-07

Unit 2 of Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Resumes Grid Connection

According to the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2 of the station was reconnected to the grid on August 4. The plant stated that after completing diagnostic testing of the electrical equipment of Unit 2, the unit was put into operation and reached rated operating parameters. Previously, Unit 2 of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant was disconnected from the grid at the end of July.

2026-08-07

SNPAS Completes Shipment of First Batch of Cabinets for PLS and DDS Systems of Lianjiang Nuclear Power Unit 2

Recently, witnessed by Zhanjiang Nuclear Power and Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), SNPAS successfully completed the delivery of the first batch of cabinets for the Plant Control System (PLS) and Data Display and Processing System (DDS) of Unit 2 of the Guangdong Lianjiang Nuclear Power Project Phase I, with the equipment having arrived at the project site smoothly. Sun Mingjun, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Zhanjiang Nuclear Power, Liu Xin, Deputy General Manager of SNPAS, and Zhou Xu, Deputy General Manager of the Procurement Center of SNERDI, attended the shipment ceremony. This shipment marks an important milestone in the execution of the instrumentation and control (I&C) system for Unit 2, signifying that the main I&C equipment has officially entered the stage of batch delivery and on-site installation preparation. The shipment of Unit 2 follows the mature experience of Unit 1 in...

2026-08-06

SNPAS Completes Shipment of First Batch of Cabinets for PLS and DDS Systems of Lianjiang Nuclear Power Unit 2

Recently, witnessed by Zhanjiang Nuclear Power and Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), SNPAS successfully completed the shipment and delivery of the first batch of cabinets for the Plant Control System (PLS) and Data Display and Processing System (DDS) of Unit 2 of the Phase I project of Guangdong Lianjiang Nuclear Power Project, with the equipment having arrived at the project site smoothly. Sun Mingjun, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Zhanjiang Nuclear Power, Liu Xin, Deputy General Manager of SNPAS, and Zhou Xu, Deputy General Manager of the Procurement Center of SNERDI, attended the shipment ceremony. This shipment marks an important milestone in the implementation of the instrumentation and control (I&C) system for Unit 2, signifying that the main I&C equipment has officially entered the phase of batch delivery and on-site installation preparation. The shipment of Unit 2 continues the...

2026-08-06

Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 scheduled inspection completion date moved up to September 16

Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. announced on August 5 that the schedule for the 18th periodic utility inspection of Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 has been revised, with the inspection completion date moved up from September 17, 2026 to September 16, and the power generation resumption date moved up from August 19 to August 18. Shimane Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 is a boiling water reactor unit with a rated electrical output of 820 MW. The unit was shut down on February 9, 2026 and entered its 18th periodic utility inspection. The reason for this adjustment is that, during the reactor start-up preparation work, the procurement of the nitrogen gas source used to fill the reactor containment vessel was completed earlier than planned, allowing the related work to be advanced accordingly...

2026-08-05

Fuel assembly replacement launched at Unit 2 of Beznau Nuclear Power Plant

Swiss energy company Axpo launched fuel assembly replacement work at Unit 2 of the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant (KKB) on August 4, with the related outage expected to last approximately two weeks. As planned, plant technicians will replace 20 of the 121 fuel assemblies in the reactor core during the outage, while also carrying out routine inspections and system tests. More than 560 employees of the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant will be involved in the related work, supported by approximately 150 external experts on site. The fuel assembly replacement and related operations are supervised by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). Previously, the relevant units at the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant had been shut down due to elevated water temperatures in the Aare River. According to available information,...

2026-08-05