Canada's Kinectrics signs international contracts

15 March 2019

Canadian company Kinectrics has been awarded contracts for major projects related to safety at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania and lifetime asset management at the Bruce plant in Canada.

Cernavoda (Image: Nuclearelectrica)

The contracts from Cernavoda owner Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica AS (SNN, also referred to as Nuclearelectrica) are for the preparation of the second periodic safety review (PSR) for Cernavoda unit 1 and the first PSR for Cernavoda 2, worth over EUR7 million (USD7.9 million); and a seven-month CAD130,000 (USD97,400) project to update the fire hazard analysis (FHA) for both units. The third deal, described by Kinectrics as a "large multi-disciplined engineering services contract", is part of the Bruce Power Lifetime Asset Management Program (LAMP), and is worth "several million dollars," the company said.

The PSR work for Cernavoda will involve the preparation of a basis document for each unit. A total of 22 safety factor reports will be produced, eight for each unit and six that are common to both. A global assessment report and a related database will also be prepared for each unit. The contract is to be completed by April 2022.

The second Cernavoda contract will involve updating the units' existing FHA and assessing and proposing solutions to all findings in Control Verification Reports from Romania's Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and the nuclear regulator, the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control. Kinectrics will lead the project with technical assistance provided by the Sigura Group, a specialist Romanian fire protection company.

Cernavoda 1 and 2 - both 650 MWe Candu 6 reactors - began operating in July 1996 and August 2007, respectively. They supply almost 20% of Romania's electricity.

The scope of the contract with Bruce includes replacement, refurbishment or upgrades of equipment assets such as heat exchangers, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation and control (I&C) components, transformers and turbines at the Bruce A and B stations. Kinectrics has already begun conceptual and preliminary design phases for the LAMP projects, the company said. Kinectrics said it intends to leverage the team experience gained through the project for future designs and innovations as it continues to provide long-term engineering services to Bruce Power.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News