Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant

Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant
Location of Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan
Official name 國聖核能發電廠
Country Republic of China
Location Wanli, New Taipei
Coordinates 25°12′10″N 121°39′45″E / 25.20278°N 121.66250°ECoordinates: 25°12′10″N 121°39′45″E / 25.20278°N 121.66250°E
Status Operational
Commission date December 1981 (Unit 1)
March 1983 (Unit 2)
Decommission date 2021 (Unit 1) - Planned
2023 (Unit 2) - Planned[1]
Owner(s) Taipower
Operator(s) Taipower[2]
Nuclear power station
Reactor type BWR-6
Power generation
Units operational 2 x 985 MW
Nameplate capacity 2 x 985 MWe[3]

The Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant or Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant (國聖核能發電廠 or 核二) is a nuclear power plant in Wanli, New Taipei, Taiwan. The plant is currently the largest nuclear power plant in Taiwan, before the opening of the 2,700 MW Longmen Nuclear Power Plant which is still under construction.

Generation

The power plant can generate 16 billion kWh of electricity per year.[4]

Events

October 2010

On 7 October 2010, the Unit 1 of the plant was shutdown for refueling starting at 12:49 a.m. and was synchronized back to the system on 31 October at 12:14 p.m., setting a record breaking among all existing nuclear power plants in Taiwan for the shortest overhaul duration of 24.48 days.[5]

17 May 2011

On 17 May 2011, Taiwan held its very first compounded nuclear disaster drill at Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant organized by Taipower and New Taipei City Fire Department witnessed by President Ma Ying-jeou. The training scenario is based on Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011. A statement made by Taipower in the worst-case scenario of a total power failure of the plant, they would make life saving as the top priority by abandoning the plant and injecting seawater to prevent the meltdown of the nuclear core.[6]

16 March 2012

During a routine maintenance of the power plant on 16 March 2012, the plant maintenance workers discovered problems on the seven anchor bolts used to secure the bottom of the nuclear reactor to the steel-reinforced concrete substrate that holds the weight of the reactor. One bolt was broken, two were fractured and four were cracked. Taipower said that they would consult other related agencies to analyze and fix the problem and add vibration monitoring sensor near the supporting base of the reactor for continuous monitoring.[7]

21 June 2013

The first nuclear reactor of the plant automatically shut down on Friday, 21 June 2013. The event was triggered by protective device activated by the grounding signal of the generator. The signal was occurred due to the blade of the air damper became loose and felt into busbar between the generator and main transformer. The incident did not damage the reactor and there was no release of radioactivity. Mitigation actions taken by Taipower were done by resecuring the blade and replacing the related components. The power plant was back online on Sunday, 23 June 2013.[8][9]

Awards

On 3 November 2010, the 360 Degrees Work Platform over Reactor project of the plant was awarded gold medal as the Best Operation and Maintenance Project during the 6th 2010 Asia Power Awards in Singapore, organized by Asia Power magazine.[10]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant.

References

  1. "Taiwan Nuclear Power". World-nuclear.org. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  2. "Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant Taiwan - GEO". Globalenergyobservatory.org. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. "Kuosheng NPP". Nuctrans.org. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  4. "Taipower mulls extending use of three nuclear plants". Taipei Times. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  5. "Taiwan power company-Taipower Events". Taipower.com.tw. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  6. "Taiwan holds nuclear safety drill". Taipei Times. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  7. "Taipower facing more questioning after damaged reactor anchor bolts revealed at Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant". Enformable. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  8. "No safety problems after shutdown at plant: Taipower". Taipei Times. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  9. "Nuclear reactor operating after brief shutdown". The China Post. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  10. "Taiwan power company-Taipower Events". Taipower.com.tw. Retrieved 2014-06-03.