Project creates roadmap for future digital safety system upgrades
Aerial photo of nuclear power plant in Limerick, Pennsylvania. (Credit: Arturo Ramos/Wikipedia.org)
Westinghouse Electric Company has signed an instrumentation and control (I&C) modernization contract with Exelon Generation for its boiling water reactor (BWR) units at the Limerick Generating Station. The implementation of the contract will mark the first fully digitized safety system in a U.S. BWR plant.
Westinghouse and Exelon will replace the analog-based Reactor Protection System (RPS) – the plant’s primary safety system – as well as several other systems with a single Plant Protection System. The main control room will be enhanced with digital displays and annunciators similar to what is found in Westinghouse’s Generation III+ AP1000® plant. The upgrades will further strengthen system reliability and optimize surveillances, ultimately reducing cost and bolstering the plant’s ability for long-term operations.
“While Limerick Generating Station continues to demonstrate its strong record of operational excellence, we continue to invest in upgrading the plant to ensure long-term reliability,” said Frank Sturniolo, Limerick Generating Station site vice president. “Limerick is essential to providing carbon-free energy to Southeastern Pennsylvania, and these upgrades will help that effort continue for decades to come.”
“We look forward to working on this important project which will help the industry reach its full operating potential,” said Pamela Cowan, Westinghouse president of Americas Operating Plant Services. “As an OEM for BWR and pressurized water reactors globally, we will leverage our proven I&C experience with advanced solutions that will help facilitate continued plant modernization.”
Source: Company Press Release