{"id":27955,"date":"2015-07-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ashleydev.com\/2015\/07\/13\/risk-and-large-infrastructure-projects-2\/"},"modified":"2020-08-27T11:38:47","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T15:38:47","slug":"risk-and-large-infrastructure-projects-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cna.ca\/fr\/2015\/07\/13\/risk-and-large-infrastructure-projects-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Risk and Large Infrastructure Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ontario government has decided that refurbishing 10 of the province\u2019s 18 nuclear reactors is the best plan to ensure affordable and reliable electricity for decades to come. That\u2019s largely because carbon-free nuclear electricity will still be less expensive than solar, wind, or gas \u2013 even with the cost of refurbishment factored in.<\/p>\n

But opponents of the project ask: How much will that refurbishment really cost? Their concerns are founded on cost overruns in past refurbishment projects \u2013 and the fact that large infrastructure projects, from building bridges to hydro dams, have a tendency to run over budget.<\/p>\n

However, a closer look at the causes of delays and budget overruns in such projects shows that the Ontario nuclear refurbishment is well positioned to finish on time and on budget.<\/p>\n

The challenge of one-of-a-kind jobs\"Editorial<\/strong><\/p>\n

The challenge with many large infrastructure projects is their uniqueness, which can lend itself to complexity. While some projects take advantage of improvements in materials or technology, these same factors also require new designs, more training, and more coordination among the people involved. This can add cost and time.<\/p>\n

But this is also an opportunity. By learning from experience and applying ingenuity, some infrastructure operations eventually become almost routine. For example, in 2014, the City of Ottawa replaced its 2,100-tonne Lees Avenue overpass in a single night. A time-lapse video<\/a> of the operation went viral.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for refurbishment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Refurbishing Ontario\u2019s nuclear power plants won\u2019t be as fast as replacing an overpass, but the engineering teams will be working with equipment that is\u00a0well known, operating on principles that are thoroughly understood. This is not experimental, but an upgrade. And the teams taking on the job now have built up\u00a0a lot of\u00a0experience on accumulated industry know-how.<\/p>\n

To begin with, Bruce Power has already refurbished two reactors. That project showed how the team learned: On the second reactor they refurbished, the team did several tasks much more quickly, replacing the second steam generator 57% faster than the first, and removing the second set of calandria tubes 77% faster than the first. Bruce Power then delivered another life-extension project on one of the reactors on time and budget, in 2011.<\/p>\n

In the first refurbishment, the reactors had been offline for 17 years. It was like starting up a classic car that has been sitting in a garage \u2013 a really great car, but one that hadn\u2019t been used. The engineers had to find out exactly what state the reactors were in first before going ahead with the overhaul. In contrast, the upcoming Bruce refurbishment is on reactors that are running now, and running well, so much of the planning is already done.<\/p>\n

Every activity Bruce Power will have to do on the site is something it has done before. It\u2019s familiar work. The refurbishment activities are focused on two key elements \u2013 replacing steam generators and re-tubing the reactor. Every activity needed to complete these has been tested and its scope defined.<\/p>\n

Planning is also long underway at Darlington. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is on track to have all the required regulatory approvals, project contracts awarded, tools tested, staff trained and a detailed schedule and fully committed budget well before the project execution begins in 2016. According to OPG, “After six years of planning, extensive inspections and benchmarking, 40 years of operational and project management experience, and a ground-breaking nuclear training and testing facility \u2026 we\u2019re ready for refurbishment.\u201d In that testing facility, there is a full-scale mock-up of a Darlington reactor vault. It\u2019s accurate right down to the exact bend in every pipe, with thousands of components. Every door, light, hallway, and overhead light is replicated. The mock-up will give OPG and contractors a chance to do each of the jobs they expect to do, and make sure they can do them right, before working on the actual reactor.<\/p>\n

All systems go<\/strong><\/p>\n

The learning won\u2019t stop once the refurbishment begins. Each system-focused team plans to take lessons from one refurbishment and apply them to the next. That\u2019s one of the reasons why the 10 refurbishments will be spaced over 15 years.<\/p>\n

The refurbishments also create opportunities to improve the plants\u2019 systems and materials \u201cwhile the car hood is up.\u201d At Darlington, in addition to the removal and replacement of reactor components, the refurbishment also involves a tremendous amount of work to maintain, upgrade, and refurbish other important plant systems, such as the turbine and generator sets, fuel handling equipment, and other nuclear, conventional, and safety systems. And because the industry has learned a lot about how materials react to radiation since the Bruce Power station went online, the teams will be replacing some of the parts, such as the fuel channels and steam generators, with materials that are stronger, safer, and longer-lasting.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Ontario government has ensured that the contracts will allow it to limit or even stop the refurbishments if they go over budget. That\u2019s a serious incentive for the operators and contractors involved to stay on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ontario government has decided that refurbishing 10 of the province\u2019s 18 nuclear reactors is the best plan to ensure affordable and reliable electricity for decades to come. That\u2019s largely because carbon-free nuclear electricity will still be less expensive than solar, wind, or gas \u2013 even with the cost of refurbishment factored in. But opponents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[537],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-27955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-talknuclear"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRisk and Large Infrastructure Projects - Association nucl\u00e9aire canadienne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cna.ca\/fr\/2015\/07\/13\/risk-and-large-infrastructure-projects-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Risk and Large Infrastructure Projects - Association nucl\u00e9aire canadienne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ontario government has decided that refurbishing 10 of the province\u2019s 18 nuclear reactors is the best plan to ensure affordable and reliable electricity for decades to come. 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