NIA - The Nuclear Industry Association - EDF orders 44 steam generators

EDF orders 44 steam generators

Friday, 30 September 2011

French utility EDF has placed an order worth £1.3 billion for the supply of 44 replacement steam generators. They will be supplied by Areva and Westinghouse.

Following an international call for bids launched in 2010, on 28th September EDF's board approved an order for 32 steam generators from Areva worth €1.1 billion and 12 from Westinghouse worth €400 million.

The replacement steam generations will all be installed at its 1300 MWe series of nuclear power plants across France. EDF said that the order "constitutes part of the programme for the gradual replacement of major plant components." In July 2010, EDF said that it was assessing the prospect of 60-year lifetimes for all its existing reactors. This would involve replacement of all steam generators (three in each 900 MWe reactor and four in each 1300 MWe unit) and other refurbishment, costing €400-600 million per unit to take them beyond 40 years. The company is currently replacing steam generators at a rate of two units per year, and plans to increase this to three units in 2016.

All the steam generator tubes will be produced by Valinox Nucleaire in Montbard, France. AREVA has already secured the necessary supplies and manufacturing capability at its Chalon Saint Marcel and Le Creusot plants. These steam generators will be installed at EDF's plants from 2017 onwards. According to the schedule drawn up by EDF, 16 steam generators are to be delivered by Areva in July 2016, eight in January 2017 and a further eight in January 2018.

Reacting to the announcement, Luc Oursel, CEO of AREVA declared: “AREVA put its best efforts into meeting EDF’s requirements. I am delighted with this exceptional order which testifies to EDF’s confidence in our ability to honor our commitments in a particularly short space of time. This decision from our longstanding customer and partner recognizes in our view the quality of our offer which is built first and foremost on France’s industrial excellence”.

Westinghouse said that it will manufacture and deliver its 12 replacement steam generators for EDF in collaboration with several industrial partners, including Mangiarotti in Italy for the steam generator assembly, as well as other European forging companies.

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