TOPIC 'Renewable Energy' on Mar 25, 2009 (CET)
Privatized [Bruce] Power
The effects of global warming have prompted a variety of renewable energy solutions. Bruce Power, Canada’s first private nuclear generating company, acquired two nuclear sites, from the defunct Ontario Hydro, located approximately 250 kilometers northwest of Toronto along the shores of Lake Huron. The area spans approximately 2,300 acres, which is nearly as big as nearby towns. Bruce Power is Ontario’s largest independent power generator. It sells electricity under contract to Ontario businesses, including large industrial consumers and municipal electricity utilities.
The company has successfully put two previously shut down reactor units back in commission. They operate six reactor units and are in the process of restarting two more. Bruce Power has rebuilt the reactors from the ground, up. The “Bruce A Restart” is considered one of the largest, and most challenging, infrastructure projects currently under construction in Canada.
Safety is a paramount concern, and all personnel must be outfitted in protective suits, shoe covers, gloves, and other gear, and assigned a radiation sensitive badge. There are a series of air locks, much like on a submarine, that one must pass through to get into the negative pressure vault. The reactor is located in the middle of a room two meters thick. Technicians vacuum debris to keep the dust down.
The nuclear reactor produces steam to power the steam generators that are each the size of a bus. Heavy water goes from boiler to reactor. It is turned into steam to run the reactor. The area is continually checked for radiation particles, making certain the space outside the reactor and the fuel are contamination-free. Giant turbine halls for reactors 1 & 2 have been refurbished. New rotors and shafts have also been installed.
An important feature is Bruce Power’s control room, simulator classroom where instructors create crisis scenarios. In a real crisis the control system’s computers take over and the reactor is instantly shut down. The operator stabilizes connecting systems and cues the injection of chemicals Into the reactor to stop the chain reaction. Simultaneously, the vacuum sucks up any radioactive steam leaking out of the vault
Nuclear waste remains a big environmental concern. Bruce Power stores nuclear waste for ten years in watered fuel bays. After it cools, it is put in dry storage and cleansed of radioactive dust.
Jason Grace
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
