104-573: The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant ( BNPP ) is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula , 100 kilometers (62 mi) west of Manila , Philippines . Completed but never fueled, it is located on a 3.57 km (1.38 sq mi) government reservation at Napot Point in Barangay Nagbalayong, Morong , Bataan . It was the Philippines' only attempt at building a nuclear power plant. It
208-405: A decollement . Extensional decollements can grow to great dimensions and form detachment faults , which are low-angle normal faults with regional tectonic significance. Due to the curvature of the fault plane, the horizontal extensional displacement on a listric fault implies a geometric "gap" between the hanging and footwalls of the fault forms when the slip motion occurs. To accommodate into
312-829: A plate boundary. This class is related to an offset in a spreading center , such as a mid-ocean ridge , or, less common, within continental lithosphere , such as the Dead Sea Transform in the Middle East or the Alpine Fault in New Zealand. Transform faults are also referred to as "conservative" plate boundaries since the lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed. Dip-slip faults can be either normal (" extensional ") or reverse . The terminology of "normal" and "reverse" comes from coal mining in England, where normal faults are
416-460: A condenser. The condenser is a heat exchanger which is connected to a secondary side such as a river or a cooling tower . The water is then pumped back into the steam generator and the cycle begins again. The water-steam cycle corresponds to the Rankine cycle . The nuclear reactor is the heart of the station. In its central part, the reactor's core produces heat due to nuclear fission. With this heat,
520-442: A coolant is heated as it is pumped through the reactor and thereby removes the energy from the reactor. The heat from nuclear fission is used to raise steam, which runs through turbines , which in turn power the electrical generators. Nuclear reactors usually rely on uranium to fuel the chain reaction. Uranium is a very heavy metal that is abundant on Earth and is found in sea water as well as most rocks. Naturally occurring uranium
624-402: A facility has been completely decommissioned it is released from regulatory control, and the licensee of the station no longer has responsibility for its nuclear safety. Generally speaking, nuclear stations were originally designed for a life of about 30 years. Newer stations are designed for a 40 to 60-year operating life. The Centurion Reactor is a future class of nuclear reactor that
728-574: A fault hosting valuable porphyry copper deposits is northern Chile's Domeyko Fault with deposits at Chuquicamata , Collahuasi , El Abra , El Salvador , La Escondida and Potrerillos . Further south in Chile Los Bronces and El Teniente porphyry copper deposit lie each at the intersection of two fault systems. Faults may not always act as conduits to surface. It has been proposed that deep-seated "misoriented" faults may instead be zones where magmas forming porphyry copper stagnate achieving
832-500: A fault is locked, and when it reaches a level that exceeds the strength threshold, the fault ruptures and the accumulated strain energy is released in part as seismic waves , forming an earthquake . Strain occurs accumulatively or instantaneously, depending on the liquid state of the rock; the ductile lower crust and mantle accumulate deformation gradually via shearing , whereas the brittle upper crust reacts by fracture – instantaneous stress release – resulting in motion along
936-410: A fault often forms a discontinuity that may have a large influence on the mechanical behavior (strength, deformation, etc.) of soil and rock masses in, for example, tunnel , foundation , or slope construction. The level of a fault's activity can be critical for (1) locating buildings, tanks, and pipelines and (2) assessing the seismic shaking and tsunami hazard to infrastructure and people in
1040-408: A fault's age by studying soil features seen in shallow excavations and geomorphology seen in aerial photographs. Subsurface clues include shears and their relationships to carbonate nodules , eroded clay, and iron oxide mineralization, in the case of older soil, and lack of such signs in the case of younger soil. Radiocarbon dating of organic material buried next to or over a fault shear
1144-404: A nuclear reactor heats the reactor coolant. The coolant may be water or gas, or even liquid metal, depending on the type of reactor. The reactor coolant then goes to a steam generator and heats water to produce steam. The pressurized steam is then usually fed to a multi-stage steam turbine . After the steam turbine has expanded and partially condensed the steam, the remaining vapor is condensed in
SECTION 10
#17328512427831248-479: A nuclear station is smaller than the fuel cost for operation of coal or gas plants. Since most of the cost of nuclear power plant is capital cost, there is almost no cost saving by running it at less than full capacity. Nuclear power plants are routinely used in load following mode on a large scale in France, although "it is generally accepted that this is not an ideal economic situation for nuclear stations". Unit A at
1352-506: A number of long-established projects are struggling to find financing, notably Belene in Bulgaria and the additional reactors at Cernavodă in Romania , and some potential backers have pulled out. Where cheap gas is available and its future supply relatively secure, this also poses a major problem for nuclear projects. Analysis of the economics of nuclear power must take into account who bears
1456-444: A previous goal aimed to reduce nuclear electricity generation share to lower than fifty percent by 2025, this target was postponed to 2035 in 2019 and ultimately discarded in 2023. Russia continues to export the most nuclear power plants in the world, with projects across various countries: as of July 2023, Russia was constructing 19 out of 22 reactors constructed by foreign vendors; however, some exporting projects were canceled due to
1560-477: A result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth 's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults . Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes . Faults may also displace slowly, by aseismic creep . A fault plane
1664-490: A safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000 defects. Among the issues raised was that it was built near a major geological fault line and close to the then dormant Mount Pinatubo . In November 1979, President Ferdinand Marcos stated via a decree that the continuation of the construction was not possible due, to potential hazards to the health and safety of the public. However, the Marcos administration eventually supported
1768-587: A significantly different evaluation of the economics of new nuclear power stations. Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan , costs are likely to go up for currently operating and new nuclear power stations, due to increased requirements for on-site spent fuel management and elevated design basis threats. However many designs, such as the currently under construction AP1000, use passive nuclear safety cooling systems, unlike those of Fukushima I which required active cooling systems, which largely eliminates
1872-413: A slight decrease from the 2653 TWh produced in 2021. Thirteen countries generated at least one-quarter of their electricity from nuclear sources. Notably, France relies on nuclear energy for about 70% of its electricity needs, while Ukraine , Slovakia , Belgium , and Hungary source around half their power from nuclear. Japan , which previously depended on nuclear for over a quarter of its electricity,
1976-427: A small enough volume to become supercritical. Most reactors require continuous temperature control to prevent a core meltdown , which has occurred on a few occasions through accident or natural disaster, releasing radiation and making the surrounding area uninhabitable. Plants must be defended against theft of nuclear material and attack by enemy military planes or missiles. The most serious accidents to date have been
2080-482: A three-year research study of offshore floating nuclear power generation. In October 2022, NuScale Power and Canadian company Prodigy announced a joint project to bring a North American small modular reactor based floating plant to market. The economics of nuclear power plants is a controversial subject, and multibillion-dollar investments ride on the choice of an energy source. Nuclear power stations typically have high capital costs, but low direct fuel costs, with
2184-580: A worldwide perspective, long-term waste storage costs are uncertain. Construction, or capital cost aside, measures to mitigate global warming such as a carbon tax or carbon emissions trading , increasingly favor the economics of nuclear power. Further efficiencies are hoped to be achieved through more advanced reactor designs, Generation III reactors promise to be at least 17% more fuel efficient, and have lower capital costs, while Generation IV reactors promise further gains in fuel efficiency and significant reductions in nuclear waste. In Eastern Europe,
SECTION 20
#17328512427832288-412: Is about 1/3 of solar and 1/45 of natural gas and 1/75 of coal . Newer models, like HPR1000 , produce even less carbon dioxide during the whole operating life, as little as 1/8 of power plants using gen II reactors for 1.31g/kWh. Geological fault line In geology , a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as
2392-520: Is anticipated to resume similar levels of nuclear energy utilization. Over the last 15 years, the United States has seen a significant improvement in the operational performance of its nuclear power plants, enhancing their utilization and efficiency, adding the output equivalent to 19 new 1000 MWe reactors without actual construction. In France, nuclear power plants still produce over sixty percent of this country's total power generation in 2022. While
2496-503: Is being designed to last 100 years. One of the major limiting wear factors is the deterioration of the reactor's pressure vessel under the action of neutron bombardment, however in 2018 Rosatom announced it had developed a thermal annealing technique for reactor pressure vessels which ameliorates radiation damage and extends service life by between 15 and 30 years. Nuclear stations are used primarily for base load because of economic considerations. The fuel cost of operations for
2600-431: Is found in two different isotopes : uranium-238 (U-238), accounting for 99.3% and uranium-235 (U-235) accounting for about 0.7%. U-238 has 146 neutrons and U-235 has 143 neutrons. Different isotopes have different behaviors. For instance, U-235 is fissile which means that it is easily split and gives off a lot of energy making it ideal for nuclear energy. On the other hand, U-238 does not have that property despite it being
2704-543: Is often critical in distinguishing active from inactive faults. From such relationships, paleoseismologists can estimate the sizes of past earthquakes over the past several hundred years, and develop rough projections of future fault activity. Many ore deposits lie on or are associated with faults. This is because the fractured rock associated with fault zones allow for magma ascent or the circulation of mineral-bearing fluids. Intersections of near-vertical faults are often locations of significant ore deposits. An example of
2808-444: Is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. A fault zone is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur
2912-429: Is the only nuclear facility that does not use a natural body of water for cooling, instead it uses treated sewage from the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The water coming from the cooling body of water is either pumped back to the water source at a warmer temperature or returns to a cooling tower where it either cools for more uses or evaporates into water vapor that rises out the top of the tower. The water level in
3016-547: Is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity . As of September 2023 , the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that there were 410 nuclear power reactors in operation in 32 countries around the world, and 57 nuclear power reactors under construction. Building a nuclear power plant often spans five to ten years, which can accrue significant financial costs, depending on how
3120-486: The BWR , the steam is directed into the suppression chamber and condenses there. The chambers on a heat exchanger are connected to the intermediate cooling circuit. The main condenser is a large cross-flow shell and tube heat exchanger that takes wet vapor, a mixture of liquid water and steam at saturation conditions, from the turbine-generator exhaust and condenses it back into sub-cooled liquid water so it can be pumped back to
3224-456: The Chesapeake Bay impact crater . Ring faults are the result of a series of overlapping normal faults, forming a circular outline. Fractures created by ring faults may be filled by ring dikes . Synthetic and antithetic are terms used to describe minor faults associated with a major fault. Synthetic faults dip in the same direction as the major fault while the antithetic faults dip in
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-661: The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had declared the site of the plant is safe noting the facility's solid foundation and the dormancy of the nearby volcano Mount Natib. In late 2017, representatives from Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and Slovenia's GEN Energija went to assess the plant and make recommendations for its rehabilitation. They estimated rehabilitation costs between $ 3 billion to 4 billion and proposed steps for securing financing, drafting of relevant regulations, and training of technical personnel. They also recommended that
3432-542: The Philippine economy only had a GDP of US$ 17 billion and a government budget of US$ 1.5 billion. As such, the burden to the economy for a single project was deemed too heavy. The power plant would be responsible for 10% of the Philippine's external debt . The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) later ordered Marcos crony Herminio Disini to return US$ 50.6 million in commissions he earned from
3536-491: The Russian invasion of Ukraine . Meanwhile, China continues to advance in nuclear energy: having 25 reactors under construction by late 2023, China is the country with the most reactors being built at one time in the world. Nuclear decommissioning is the dismantling of a nuclear power station and decontamination of the site to a state no longer requiring protection from radiation for the general public. The main difference from
3640-769: The Soviet Union . The world's first full scale power station, Calder Hall in the United Kingdom , opened on October 17, 1956 and was also meant to produce plutonium . The world's first full scale power station solely devoted to electricity production was the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania , United States, which was connected to the grid on December 18, 1957. The conversion to electrical energy takes place indirectly, as in conventional thermal power stations. The fission in
3744-640: The Supreme Court of the Philippines reduced from P1 billion to P100 million the temperate damages that Herminio T. Disini estate must pay for brokering the 1974 deal behind the now mothballed $ 2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. In 1976, construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began. Following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States , construction on the BNPP was stopped, and
3848-656: The UAE launched the Arab region's first-ever nuclear energy plant. Unit 1 of the Barakah plant in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi commenced generating heat on the first day of its launch, while the remaining 3 Units are being built. However, Nuclear Consulting Group head, Paul Dorfman, warned the Gulf nation's investment into the plant as a risk "further destabilizing the volatile Gulf region, damaging
3952-424: The 1970s and 1980s, when it "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies," in some countries. Proponents argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source which reduces carbon emissions and can increase energy security if its use supplants a dependence on imported fuels. Proponents advance the notion that nuclear power produces virtually no air pollution, in contrast to
4056-485: The 1979 Three Mile Island accident , the 1986 Chernobyl disaster , and the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , corresponding to the beginning of the operation of generation II reactors . Professor of sociology Charles Perrow states that multiple and unexpected failures are built into society's complex and tightly coupled nuclear reactor systems. Such accidents are unavoidable and cannot be designed around. An interdisciplinary team from MIT has estimated that given
4160-508: The Bataan Nuclear power station on rehabilitation prospects. In preparing their report, the IAEA made two primary recommendations. First, the power plant's status must be thoroughly evaluated by technical inspections and economic evaluations conducted by a committed group of nuclear power experts with experience in preservation management. Second, the IAEA mission advised the Philippine government on
4264-559: The Brussels supplementary convention, and the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage . However states with a majority of the world's nuclear power stations, including the U.S., Russia, China and Japan, are not party to international nuclear liability conventions. The nuclear power debate about the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes peaked during
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-402: The Philippine government the amount of $ 50 million for his role in defrauding the country through the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. In 2016, various senators and a few media personnel inspected the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant for a possible bid to open it for public use. Inspecting senators told the media that the power plant was still in good condition. The Department of Energy was later given
4472-569: The Philippines to revive research into nuclear power. In 2022, the Biden administration committed to increased cooperation with the Philippines on nuclear power planning, including allowing American nuclear technology to be sold to the Philippines. Marcos allies and staunch supporters of the BNPP, including Representative Mark Cojuangco welcomed the news, noting that they were also open to seeking assistance from China and South Korea . However, energy analysts including Bert Dalusung and Gerry Arances said
4576-498: The absence of any specifications on their proposal. Similarly, Marcos disregarded the advice of the National Power Corporation , the government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for electricity in the Philippines. The project was plagued with problems during construction, including the location, welding, cabling, pipes and valves, permits, and kickbacks, and setbacks such as the decline of Marcos's influence and
4680-552: The chief viable alternative of fossil fuel. Proponents also believe that nuclear power is the only viable course to achieve energy independence for most Western countries. They emphasize that the risks of storing waste are small and can be further reduced by using the latest technology in newer reactors, and the operational safety record in the Western world is excellent when compared to the other major kinds of power plants. Opponents say that nuclear power poses many threats to people and
4784-485: The costs of fuel extraction, processing, use and spent fuel storage internalized costs. Therefore, comparison with other power generation methods is strongly dependent on assumptions about construction timescales and capital financing for nuclear stations. Cost estimates take into account station decommissioning and nuclear waste storage or recycling costs in the United States due to the Price Anderson Act . With
4888-414: The crust. A thrust fault has the same sense of motion as a reverse fault, but with the dip of the fault plane at less than 45°. Thrust faults typically form ramps, flats and fault-bend (hanging wall and footwall) folds. A section of a hanging wall or foot wall where a thrust fault formed along a relatively weak bedding plane is known as a flat and a section where the thrust fault cut upward through
4992-500: The deal. Marcos received US$ 80 million in kickback from the project. The Office of the Solicitor General ruled that Marcos return PHP22.2 billion to the government for his conspiracy with Disini to defraud the government. In 2021, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ordered Disini, through his estate, to pay back the government over PHP1 billion in damages, affirming a 2012 Sandiganbayan decision. In August 2023,
5096-424: The destruction of a turbine in operation from flying towards the reactor. In the case of a pressurized water reactor, the steam turbine is separated from the nuclear system. To detect a leak in the steam generator and thus the passage of radioactive water at an early stage, an activity meter is mounted to track the outlet steam of the steam generator. In contrast, boiling water reactors pass radioactive water through
5200-433: The direction of extension or shortening changes during the deformation but the earlier formed faults remain active. The hade angle is defined as the complement of the dip angle; it is the angle between the fault plane and a vertical plane that strikes parallel to the fault. Ring faults , also known as caldera faults , are faults that occur within collapsed volcanic calderas and the sites of bolide strikes, such as
5304-458: The dismantling of other power stations is the presence of radioactive material that requires special precautions to remove and safely relocate to a waste repository. Decommissioning involves many administrative and technical actions. It includes all clean-up of radioactivity and progressive demolition of the station. Once a facility is decommissioned, there should no longer be any danger of a radioactive accident or to any persons visiting it. After
SECTION 50
#17328512427835408-431: The distinction, as the rock between the faults is converted to fault-bound lenses of rock and then progressively crushed. Due to friction and the rigidity of the constituent rocks, the two sides of a fault cannot always glide or flow past each other easily, and so occasionally all movement stops. The regions of higher friction along a fault plane, where it becomes locked, are called asperities . Stress builds up when
5512-534: The energy-intensive stages of the nuclear fuel chain are considered, from uranium mining to nuclear decommissioning , nuclear power is not a low-carbon electricity source despite the possibility of refinement and long-term storage being powered by a nuclear facility. Those countries that do not contain uranium mines cannot achieve energy independence through existing nuclear power technologies. Actual construction costs often exceed estimates, and spent fuel management costs are difficult to define. On 1 August 2020,
5616-402: The environment and raising the possibility of nuclear proliferation." Nuclear power plants do not produce greenhouse gases during operation. Older nuclear power plants, like ones using second-generation reactors , produce approximately the same amount of carbon dioxide during the whole life cycle of nuclear power plants for an average of about 11g/kWh, as much power generated by wind , which
5720-775: The environment, and that costs do not justify benefits. Threats include health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining , processing and transport, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation or sabotage, and the problem of radioactive nuclear waste . Another environmental issue is discharge of hot water into the sea. The hot water modifies the environmental conditions for marine flora and fauna. They also contend that reactors themselves are enormously complex machines where many things can and do go wrong, and there have been many serious nuclear accidents . Critics do not believe that these risks can be reduced through new technology , despite rapid advancements in containment procedures and storage methods. Opponents argue that when all
5824-411: The environment. In addition, many reactors are equipped with a dome of concrete to protect the reactor against both internal casualties and external impacts. The purpose of the steam turbine is to convert the heat contained in steam into mechanical energy. The engine house with the steam turbine is usually structurally separated from the main reactor building. It is aligned so as to prevent debris from
5928-513: The expected growth of nuclear power from 2005 to 2055, at least four serious nuclear accidents would be expected in that period. The MIT study does not take into account improvements in safety since 1970. Nuclear power works under an insurance framework that limits or structures accident liabilities in accordance with the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy ,
6032-525: The fact that the plant stands near a major earthquake fault, and the large sums of money the government would need to loan to revive the plant. Critics also alleged that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was being revived to become another source of government corruption. Opposition to the nuclear plant's revival came from Bataan and nearby provinces. In February 2010, NAPOCOR started evaluating the financial plan of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), assessing that it may cost US$ 1 billion to rehabilitate
6136-409: The fault (called a piercing point ). In practice, it is usually only possible to find the slip direction of faults, and an approximation of the heave and throw vector. The two sides of a non-vertical fault are known as the hanging wall and footwall . The hanging wall occurs above the fault plane and the footwall occurs below it. This terminology comes from mining: when working a tabular ore body,
6240-532: The fault is the vertical component of the separation and the heave of the fault is the horizontal component, as in "Throw up and heave out". The vector of slip can be qualitatively assessed by studying any drag folding of strata, which may be visible on either side of the fault. Drag folding is a zone of folding close to a fault that likely arises from frictional resistance to movement on the fault. The direction and magnitude of heave and throw can be measured only by finding common intersection points on either side of
6344-461: The fault movement. Faults are mainly classified in terms of the angle that the fault plane makes with the Earth's surface, known as the dip , and the direction of slip along the fault plane. Based on the direction of slip, faults can be categorized as: In a strike-slip fault (also known as a wrench fault , tear fault or transcurrent fault ), the fault surface (plane) is usually near vertical, and
SECTION 60
#17328512427836448-406: The fault. A fault in ductile rocks can also release instantaneously when the strain rate is too great. Slip is defined as the relative movement of geological features present on either side of a fault plane. A fault's sense of slip is defined as the relative motion of the rock on each side of the fault concerning the other side. In measuring the horizontal or vertical separation, the throw of
6552-428: The footwall moves laterally either left or right with very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are also known as sinistral faults and those with right-lateral motion as dextral faults. Each is defined by the direction of movement of the ground as would be seen by an observer on the opposite side of the fault. A special class of strike-slip fault is the transform fault when it forms
6656-531: The footwall. The dip of most normal faults is at least 60 degrees but some normal faults dip at less than 45 degrees. A downthrown block between two normal faults dipping towards each other is a graben . A block stranded between two grabens, and therefore two normal faults dipping away from each other, is a horst . A sequence of grabens and horsts on the surface of the Earth produces a characteristic basin and range topography . Normal faults can evolve into listric faults, with their plane dip being steeper near
6760-416: The general requirements for starting its nuclear power program, stressing that the proper infrastructure, safety standards, and knowledge be implemented. The IAEA's role did not extend to assessing whether the power plant is usable or how much the plant may cost to rehabilitate. Plans to reactivate the plant was questioned by critics, citing the need to consider people's safety, the plant's structural defects,
6864-429: The geometric gap, and depending on its rheology , the hanging wall might fold and slide downwards into the gap and produce rollover folding , or break into further faults and blocks which fil in the gap. If faults form, imbrication fans or domino faulting may form. A reverse fault is the opposite of a normal fault—the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall. Reverse faults indicate compressive shortening of
6968-456: The go-ahead to look into the plant's rehabilitation. At least one senator has cautioned against reviving the nuclear power plant and stressed the need to consult scientists on the issue. Citing risks associated with the presence of the Lubao Fault, an active earthquake fault running through the nearby Mount Natib, scientists have advised against reviving the nuclear plant. However, officials from
7072-590: The government consider constructing new nuclear power plants. In an interview with CNN Philippines in April 2018, the Russian ambassador to the Philippines commented that he believed that revival of the plant would not be possible due to its outdated design. In contrast, Rosatom's vice president for Southeast Asia, Egor Simonov, stated that it would be possible to revive the plant, noting its "relatively good condition" despite decades of disuse. However, Simonov added that reviving
7176-406: The hot coolant is used as a heat source for a boiler, and the pressurized steam from that drives one or more steam turbine driven electrical generators . In the event of an emergency, safety valves can be used to prevent pipes from bursting or the reactor from exploding. The valves are designed so that they can derive all of the supplied flow rates with little increase in pressure. In the case of
7280-491: The implied mechanism of deformation. A fault that passes through different levels of the lithosphere will have many different types of fault rock developed along its surface. Continued dip-slip displacement tends to juxtapose fault rocks characteristic of different crustal levels, with varying degrees of overprinting. This effect is particularly clear in the case of detachment faults and major thrust faults . The main types of fault rock include: In geotechnical engineering ,
7384-474: The incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor. By March 1975, Westinghouse's cost estimate ballooned to US$ 1.2 billion without much explanation. The final cost was $ 2.2 billion for a single reactor, producing half the power of the original proposal. Many problems identified in earlier stages remained throughout construction, as reported by inspectors, though denied by Westinghouse. In 1976,
7488-517: The initial investments are financed. Because of this high construction cost and lower operations, maintenance, and fuel costs, nuclear plants are usually used for base load generation, because this maximizes the hours over which the fixed cost of construction can be amortized. Nuclear power plants have a carbon footprint comparable to that of renewable energy such as solar farms and wind farms , and much lower than fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal . Nuclear power plants are among
7592-464: The largest faults on Earth and give rise to the largest earthquakes. A fault which has a component of dip-slip and a component of strike-slip is termed an oblique-slip fault . Nearly all faults have some component of both dip-slip and strike-slip; hence, defining a fault as oblique requires both dip and strike components to be measurable and significant. Some oblique faults occur within transtensional and transpressional regimes, and others occur where
7696-440: The latter will conduct a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the nuclear plant at no cost of the Philippine government. Nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant ( NPP ), also known as a nuclear power station ( NPS ), nuclear generating station ( NGS ) or atomic power station ( APS ) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor . As is typical of thermal power stations, heat
7800-408: The miner stood with the footwall under his feet and with the hanging wall above him. These terms are important for distinguishing different dip-slip fault types: reverse faults and normal faults. In a reverse fault, the hanging wall displaces upward, while in a normal fault the hanging wall displaces downward. Distinguishing between these two fault types is important for determining the stress regime of
7904-435: The most common. With the passage of time, a regional reversal between tensional and compressional stresses (or vice-versa) might occur, and faults may be reactivated with their relative block movement inverted in opposite directions to the original movement (fault inversion). In such a way, a normal fault may therefore become a reverse fault and vice versa. In a normal fault, the hanging wall moves downward, relative to
8008-536: The need to spend more on redundant back up safety equipment. According to the World Nuclear Association , as of March 2020: The Russian state nuclear company Rosatom is the largest player in international nuclear power market, building nuclear plants around the world. Whereas Russian oil and gas were subject to international sanctions after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Rosatom
8112-473: The now decommissioned German Biblis Nuclear Power Plant was designed to modulate its output 15% per minute between 40% and 100% of its nominal power. Russia has led in the practical development of floating nuclear power stations , which can be transported to the desired location and occasionally relocated or moved for easier decommissioning. In 2022, the United States Department of Energy funded
8216-453: The nuclear plant and an estimated US$ 700 million cost. Westinghouse submitted a lower cost estimate of US$ 500 million, but the proposal did not contain any detail or specification. The presidential committee tasked to oversee the project preferred General Electric's proposal. This was overruled by Marcos in June 1974, who signed a letter of intent awarding the project to Westinghouse, despite
8320-532: The nuclear plant. In February 2011, the Philippine government reimbursed the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) ₱4.2 billion (US$ 96 million) it spent for maintaining the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. It requires an average of ₱40 million a year just to maintain it. In May 2011, it was announced that the plant would be turned into a tourist attraction. In 2012, the Sandiganbayan graft court ordered entrepreneur and Marcos crony Herminio Disini to repay
8424-502: The nuclear power plant may not be cost-effective. In 2019, the Department of National Defense expressed its support for the revival of the nuclear power plant. The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute also urged the government to revive the power plant. Amid the 2021–2023 global energy crisis , President Bongbong Marcos , in his 2022 State of the Nation address , expressed his wish for
8528-462: The nuclear power plant might be less important for government funding priorities than building out a system of distributed renewables, pointing to their emerging cheapness. Local lawyers and activists such as Derek Cabe and Dante Ilaya have also vowed to fight the revival of the BNPP. In October 2024, an agreement was announced between the Department of Energy and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power where
8632-482: The opposite direction. These faults may be accompanied by rollover anticlines (e.g. the Niger Delta Structural Style). All faults have a measurable thickness, made up of deformed rock characteristic of the level in the crust where the faulting happened, of the rock types affected by the fault and of the presence and nature of any mineralising fluids . Fault rocks are classified by their textures and
8736-609: The plant, opposition to the nuclear plant also raised concerns related to safety and health issues, reliance on imported uranium, high waste, and the steep cost of decommissioning. Despite never being commissioned, the plant has remained intact, including the nuclear reactor, and has continued to be maintained. In April 2007, the Philippine government completed paying off its obligations on the plant, more than 30 years after construction began. In January 2008, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes announced that an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) eight-man team led by Akira Omoto inspected
8840-557: The project. By 1984, when the BNPP was nearly complete, its cost had reached US$ 2.3 billion. Equipped with a Westinghouse light water reactor , it was designed to produce 621 megawatts of electricity. In February 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown by the People Power Revolution . Days after the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ,
8944-474: The prospect that all spent nuclear fuel could potentially be recycled by using future reactors, generation IV reactors are being designed to completely close the nuclear fuel cycle . However, up to now, there has not been any actual bulk recycling of waste from a NPP, and on-site temporary storage is still being used at almost all plant sites due to construction problems for deep geological repositories . Only Finland has stable repository plans, therefore from
9048-427: The reactor by the condensate and feedwater pumps. In the main condenser, the wet vapor turbine exhaust come into contact with thousands of tubes that have much colder water flowing through them on the other side. The cooling water typically come from a natural body of water such as a river or lake. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station , located in the desert about 97 kilometres (60 mi) west of Phoenix, Arizona,
9152-412: The right time for—and type of— igneous differentiation . At a given time differentiated magmas would burst violently out of the fault-traps and head to shallower places in the crust where porphyry copper deposits would be formed. As faults are zones of weakness, they facilitate the interaction of water with the surrounding rock and enhance chemical weathering . The enhanced chemical weathering increases
9256-540: The risks of future uncertainties. To date all operating nuclear power stations were developed by state-owned or regulated utilities where many of the risks associated with construction costs, operating performance, fuel price, and other factors were borne by consumers rather than suppliers. Many countries have now liberalized the electricity market where these risks and the risk of cheaper competitors emerging before capital costs are recovered, are borne by station suppliers and operators rather than consumers, which leads to
9360-632: The safest modes of electricity generation, comparable to solar and wind power plants. The first time that heat from a nuclear reactor was used to generate electricity was on December 21, 1951, at the Experimental Breeder Reactor I , powering four light bulbs. On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power station to generate electricity for a power grid , the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant , commenced operations in Obninsk , in
9464-407: The same element. Different isotopes also have different half-lives . U-238 has a longer half-life than U-235, so it takes longer to decay over time. This also means that U-238 is less radioactive than U-235. Since nuclear fission creates radioactivity, the reactor core is surrounded by a protective shield. This containment absorbs radiation and prevents radioactive material from being released into
9568-693: The steam generator and the nuclear reactor is controlled using the feedwater system. The feedwater pump has the task of taking the water from the condensate system, increasing the pressure and forcing it into either the steam generators—in the case of a pressurized water reactor — or directly into the reactor, for boiling water reactors . Continuous power supply to the plant is critical to ensure safe operation. Most nuclear stations require at least two distinct sources of offsite power for redundancy. These are usually provided by multiple transformers that are sufficiently separated and can receive power from multiple transmission lines. In addition, in some nuclear stations,
9672-487: The steam turbine, so the turbine is kept as part of the radiologically controlled area of the nuclear power station. The electric generator converts mechanical power supplied by the turbine into electrical power. Low-pole AC synchronous generators of high rated power are used. A cooling system removes heat from the reactor core and transports it to another area of the station, where the thermal energy can be harnessed to produce electricity or to do other useful work. Typically
9776-416: The stratigraphic sequence is known as a ramp . Typically, thrust faults move within formations by forming flats and climbing up sections with ramps. This results in the hanging wall flat (or a portion thereof) lying atop the foot wall ramp as shown in the fault-bend fold diagram. Thrust faults form nappes and klippen in the large thrust belts. Subduction zones are a special class of thrusts that form
9880-438: The succeeding administration of President Corazon Aquino decided not to operate the plant. Among other considerations taken was the strong opposition from Bataan residents and Philippine citizens as well as concerns over the integrity of the construction. From 1989 to 1993, the Philippines experienced 8- to 12-hour rolling blackouts and power rationing. The new government sued Westinghouse for alleged overpricing and bribery, but
9984-400: The surface, then shallower with increased depth, with the fault plane curving into the Earth. They can also form where the hanging wall is absent (such as on a cliff), where the footwall may slump in a manner that creates multiple listric faults. The fault panes of listric faults can further flatten and evolve into a horizontal or near-horizontal plane, where slip progresses horizontally along
10088-477: The turbine generator can power the station's loads while the station is online, without requiring external power. This is achieved via station service transformers which tap power from the generator output before they reach the step-up transformer. Nuclear power plants generate approximately 10% of global electricity, sourced from around 440 reactors worldwide. They are recognized as a significant provider of low-carbon electricity , accounting for about one-quarter of
10192-570: The vicinity. In California, for example, new building construction has been prohibited directly on or near faults that have moved within the Holocene Epoch (the last 11,700 years) of the Earth's geological history. Also, faults that have shown movement during the Holocene plus Pleistocene Epochs (the last 2.6 million years) may receive consideration, especially for critical structures such as power plants, dams, hospitals, and schools. Geologists assess
10296-455: The world's supply in this category. As of 2020, nuclear power stood as the second-largest source of low-carbon energy, making up 26% of the total. Nuclear power facilities are active in 32 countries or regions, and their influence extends beyond these nations through regional transmission grids, especially in Europe. In 2022, nuclear power plants generated 2545 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity,
10400-660: Was a focal point for anti-nuclear protests in the late 1970s and 1980s. The project was criticized for being a potential threat to public health, especially since the plant was located in an earthquake zone, connected to Mount Natib , a caldera volcano similar to Mount Pinatubo. According to the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center , several earthquakes have occurred on Mount Natib from 1951 to 2016. Following proposals submitted in 2017 by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. and Russia's Rosatom to rehabilitate
10504-595: Was mothballed due to safety concerns in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986 and issues regarding corruption. In 1958, the Philippine nuclear program started with the creation of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). In July 1973, under a regime of martial law, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announced the decision to build a nuclear power plant. A presidential committee
10608-477: Was not targeted by sanctions. However, some countries, especially in Europe, scaled back or cancelled planned nuclear power plants that were to be built by Rosatom. Modern nuclear reactor designs have had numerous safety improvements since the first-generation nuclear reactors. A nuclear power plant cannot explode like a nuclear weapon because the fuel for uranium reactors is not enriched enough, and nuclear weapons require precision explosives to force fuel into
10712-458: Was set up to secure funding for two 620 megawatt nuclear reactors for the energy needs of Luzon. Marcos reasoned that this was in response to the 1973 oil crisis , as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy strain on the Philippine economy. Two proposals were submitted by General Electric and Westinghouse Electric . General Electric submitted a proposal containing detailed specifications of
10816-416: Was ultimately rejected by a United States court. Debt repayment on the plant became the Philippine's single biggest debt obligation. Successive governments have looked at several proposals to convert the plant into an oil, coal, or gas-fired power station. These options have all been deemed less economically attractive in the long term than simply constructing new power stations. The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
#782217