How long does it take to build a nuclear reactor?
2 Answers
Garrett Goldfinger, Nuclear Eng. and Politics58 upvotes by Eric Nelson, Sohil Bhagat, Joe Geronimo Martinez, (more)Loading...
If we're talking actual construction time of a nuclear power plant, it's a bit of a long endeavor and depends on the design. Generally, plant construction can take 40-60 months from the first concrete pour to the end of construction when fuel is loaded.
Before this period, 12 months is typically assumed to clear the site and prepare the area for infrastructure such as heavy haul roads, housing, water, electricity, warehouses, etc. Grubbing, clearing, excavation, and grading is done during this time.
After fuel is loaded, roughly another 6 months of start-up testing is performed to make sure the plant will perform as licensed and designed. After this period, the plant is cleared to start pumping power to the grid.
With that said, there are two general methods for construction. Some plants use only minor modularization (EPR) and some are designed to take full advantage of it (AP1000, ABWR).
Old-school "stick-built" plants (50-60 months)
Some plant construction strategies haven't changed since the first commercial nuclear power plants were built in the 60s and 70s. A massive effort is put forth in civil works alone in order to assemble rebar, align formwork, and pour concrete. It's on the same scale as a bridge construction project using hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of concrete.
After the buildings are mostly erected, equipment is brought in and installed inside the reactor building. This includes a great deal of piping, cabling, wiring, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, etc.
Areva EPR Construction (Flamanville, France)
Rosatom AES-2006 Construction (Novovoronezh, Russia - Note extensive amount of brown steel reinforcement bars)
New-age modular plants (40-48 months)
Newer designs such as the Westinghouse AP1000 and GE-Hitachi ABWR can be constructed in roughly 40 months. These plants were designed to go together like LEGOs. Large sections of the plant are build in a factory or area next to the site and the entire "module" is dropped into place with a massive crane and bolted up.
The use of modularization (as it's referred to as) allows the construction team to work on different parts of the plant at the same time. They don't even necessarily need to be on site to do this either. Large items can be brought to coastal sites by barge or more inland sites by rail or truck depending on the size. Some of the on-site construction is then reduced to simply placing all these modules where they need to go in the plant.
GE-Hitachi ABWR Super-Module (several hundred ton section of the plant)
Westinghouse AP1000 Lower Containment Head
Before this period, 12 months is typically assumed to clear the site and prepare the area for infrastructure such as heavy haul roads, housing, water, electricity, warehouses, etc. Grubbing, clearing, excavation, and grading is done during this time.
After fuel is loaded, roughly another 6 months of start-up testing is performed to make sure the plant will perform as licensed and designed. After this period, the plant is cleared to start pumping power to the grid.
With that said, there are two general methods for construction. Some plants use only minor modularization (EPR) and some are designed to take full advantage of it (AP1000, ABWR).
Old-school "stick-built" plants (50-60 months)
Some plant construction strategies haven't changed since the first commercial nuclear power plants were built in the 60s and 70s. A massive effort is put forth in civil works alone in order to assemble rebar, align formwork, and pour concrete. It's on the same scale as a bridge construction project using hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of concrete.
After the buildings are mostly erected, equipment is brought in and installed inside the reactor building. This includes a great deal of piping, cabling, wiring, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, etc.
New-age modular plants (40-48 months)
Newer designs such as the Westinghouse AP1000 and GE-Hitachi ABWR can be constructed in roughly 40 months. These plants were designed to go together like LEGOs. Large sections of the plant are build in a factory or area next to the site and the entire "module" is dropped into place with a massive crane and bolted up.
The use of modularization (as it's referred to as) allows the construction team to work on different parts of the plant at the same time. They don't even necessarily need to be on site to do this either. Large items can be brought to coastal sites by barge or more inland sites by rail or truck depending on the size. Some of the on-site construction is then reduced to simply placing all these modules where they need to go in the plant.
Andy Lemke, studied fusion engineering in ... (more) studied fusion engineering in grad school4 upvotes by Mark Rogowsky, Amar Prabhu, Jackson Dugong Miley, (more)Loading...
There is a huge dependency on whether the design is pre-licensed or not. Since the United States is currently on the path of pre-licensing plant designs, that should bring in the time-line somewhat - perhaps as much as 3 years.
The Nuclear Regulator Commission needs to license a reactor design. This means that an electric utility company needs to submit paperwork (lets assume this is a stack about 4 ft high) regarding the design of the reactor. Essentially this is a technical overview to ensure that the reactor is safe for the American citizens who live near it.
Additionally, a site review must take place and a permit obtained. A nuclear reactor is not stand-alone. It must live and breathe - literally. It draws cool air or water and outputs warmer air or water. Yes the fish will be somewhat warmer and will need to move away. So this means an environmental impact analysis must be performed and a forum opened to the public. Anyone can object to the permit being granted. This is the political nightmare and lawsuits are a given.
Once all this is done, the utility company can break ground and construction started. All-in, this could be 10 years (without pre-licensing). However that was the old standard. Again, today the US is moving toward pre-licensing so lets say 7 years start to finish.
//disclaimer
This writeup assumes we're talking about the United States. This implies a certain amount of uncertainty in my response here due to the fact that building a reactor has so many political ramifications. Additionally, the US has not built a new reactor in several decades. There will be a big learning curve with the next few reactors.
The Nuclear Regulator Commission needs to license a reactor design. This means that an electric utility company needs to submit paperwork (lets assume this is a stack about 4 ft high) regarding the design of the reactor. Essentially this is a technical overview to ensure that the reactor is safe for the American citizens who live near it.
Additionally, a site review must take place and a permit obtained. A nuclear reactor is not stand-alone. It must live and breathe - literally. It draws cool air or water and outputs warmer air or water. Yes the fish will be somewhat warmer and will need to move away. So this means an environmental impact analysis must be performed and a forum opened to the public. Anyone can object to the permit being granted. This is the political nightmare and lawsuits are a given.
Once all this is done, the utility company can break ground and construction started. All-in, this could be 10 years (without pre-licensing). However that was the old standard. Again, today the US is moving toward pre-licensing so lets say 7 years start to finish.
//disclaimer
This writeup assumes we're talking about the United States. This implies a certain amount of uncertainty in my response here due to the fact that building a reactor has so many political ramifications. Additionally, the US has not built a new reactor in several decades. There will be a big learning curve with the next few reactors.
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