First North American Replacement Reactor Vessel Closure Head Arrives at Oconee Nuclear Station Ahead of Schedule
CAMBRIDGE, ON: April 25, 2003 The first replacement reactor vessel closure head (RVCH) and its service structure, manufactured in North America by Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. ("B&W Canada"), arrived at Duke Energy's Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina one week ahead of schedule. The RVCH is part of Duke Energy's massive $500 million refurbishment project that will extend the operating life of the plant by a minimum of 20 years.
Duke Energy opted to undertake the refurbishment after discovering nozzle cracks in their existing RVCHs installed in 1973 and 1974. As part of the project, B&W Canada will manufacture three replacement RVCHs, three service structures and related components, and six steam generators utilizing the Once-Through-Steam-Generator technology, originally designed by Babcock & Wilcox. Each 90-ton replacement RVCH is shipped from Cambridge in a custom shipping structure on a special rail car.
"The schedule pressures, along with many first-of-a-kind activities, certainly made this a challenge," says Rich Reimels, President, B&W Canada. "However, we are proud to say that the efforts of our employees and Duke enabled us to manufacture and ship these high quality products ahead of schedule to our valued customer."
The first RVCH and service structure will be installed during a scheduled outage starting later this month. With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announcing that it will increase inspections, the owners of several other nuclear utilities are considering replacement RVCHs to avoid potential for leaks, and to also limit the frequency of time-consuming and costly inspections.
Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and supply, delivery and trading businesses, meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.
Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. serves North American electric utility and industrial markets and the global nuclear utility market. Based in Cambridge, Ontario, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Babcock & Wilcox Company in Barberton, Ohio, which is an operating unit of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR). Babcock & Wilcox Canada is located on the internet at www.babcock.com/bwc.
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Media Contacts:
Chris Sellers
Manager, Public Relations & Communications
Babcock & Wilcox Canada
(519) 621-2130 ext. 2416; cpsellers@babcock.com
