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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by mardifoufs on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @06:00PM (#38787930)
I can't even imagine how you'd get the parts, and they probably can't change the plans either. Ok so I decided to look into it a bit more, and here are some interesting details from documents on the nrc.gov and EIA.gov:

Here's some context for what was happening in 1985, from the eia:

>"As a consequence of the identification of a large number of deficiencies shortly before the WBN Unit 1 license was expected to be issued, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sent a letter to TVA [...]. In response to this letter, TVA developed a Nuclear Performance Plan (NPP) to address corporate and site-specific issues, establishing programs to address a wide variety of material, design, and programmatic deficiencies. WBN Unit 2 construction was suspended at about that time, with major structures in place and equipment such as reactor coolant system piping installed."

And while most of the documentation was very terse and spoke more about specific regulatory requirements that I don't understand, this is pretty interesting:

(From the nrc.gov)

>"The NRC staff reviewed TVA’s refurbishment program and found the following: (1) TVA was refurbishing or replacing most active components and instruments; (2) TVA had determined the potential degradation mechanism for each category of components, along with any contributing environmental factors; (3) the acceptance criteria were developed from the licensing basis, design specifications, and vendor specifications; (4) the proposed inspections and testing included in the program could be expected to identify degradation; and (5) refurbishment activities would be in accordance with applicable vendor and design specifications or requirements."

That sounds like a massive, massive amount of work. It explains why it took longer even if the reactor was apparently 60% completed.

(From the eia) :

>"That time, a study found Unit 2 to be effectively 60% complete with $1.7 billion invested. The study said the plant could be finished in five years at an additional cost of $2.5 billion"

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by necheffa on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:58PM (#38788758)
> I can't even imagine how you'd get the parts, and they probably can't change the plans either.

One of the bullets on the box is that the AP1000 uses a fairly standardized design, unlike many prior designs which were mostly a patchwork of one-off designs. The AP1000 still being "in production" means parts are available.

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by zeristor on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:05PM (#38788418)
TVA - Not the Time Variance Authority I take it?

I was wondering how that was powered.

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by BeefWellington on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:23PM (#38788532)
Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by danans on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:32PM (#38788580)
Which I believe was the inspiration for the Time Variance Authority in the Loki TV Series.
Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by ortusdux on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:58PM (#38788757)
Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by zeristor on Thursday December 28, 2023 @12:03PM (#38795541)
A Quora link going into a bit more detail:

https://www.quora.com/Is-the-TVA-in-Loki-somehow-related-to-...

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by KerrAvon on Thursday December 28, 2023 @01:10PM (#38796449)
Tangent, but I find it illustrative that ChatGPT’s answer is strictly true but doesn’t actually answer the question.
Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by bonestamp2 on Thursday December 28, 2023 @03:01PM (#38797912)
> I can't even imagine how you'd get the parts

I have no idea, but I would assume most parts are custom machined to spec. If that's true, you'd just need to find machine shops capable of making the parts.

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by necheffa on Saturday January 06, 2024 @02:30PM (#38894524)
> I have no idea, but I would assume most parts are custom machined to spec. If that's true, you'd just need to find machine shops capable of making the parts.

You call up your local nuclear reactor spare parts vendor and place an order. Then they figure out how to either source the part or manufacture it or substitute it.

No, really. Most places that sell nuclear fuel have a spare parts business too.