Jordan shortlist down to two

Monday, 30 April 2012

Jordan's first nuclear power plant will be supplied by either AtomStroyExport of Russia or the Areva-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joint venture, Atmea.

The past three years have seen the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) whittle down a list of seven offers from four reactor vendors to the two announced today. Jordanian official news agency Petra reported that the JAEC has decided to continue discussions with AtomStroyExport and the Atmea consortium, describing them as the two suppliers "best qualified" with the technology to best meet Jordan's requirements and needs. The announcement removes from the running the Enhanced Candu 6 (EC6) design as offered by Candu Energy, the subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin that took on Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd's reactor business. 

Both reactors still under consideration are advanced pressurized water reactors (PWRs) offering enhanced active and passive safety systems. The 1150 MWe Atmea1 represents an evolution of French standard designs, and received preliminary safety approval from French nuclear regulators earlier this year. The AES-92 is a version of the VVER-1000 with enhanced safety and seismic features. Two AES-92 units are under construction at Kudankulam in India, while the closely related AES-91 is under construction at Tianwan in China.

Jordan has previously said it intends to start building a 750-1000 MWe nuclear power reactor in 2013 with a view to operation by 2020, followed by a second unit coming on line around 2025. The JAEC will now continue discussions with the two shortlisted suppliers to resolve outstanding technical issues including the site selection process.

Earlier in 2012 AtomStroyExport submitted a separate proposal to build four reactors for the country's second nuclear power plant. At the time the JAEC stressed that its decision on the constructor of its first nuclear power plant would not be influenced by that proposal.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News