GE Energy's Nuclear Business Wins Contract to Boost Mexico Nuclear Plant's Output

LAGUNA VERDE, MEXICO - GE Energy's nuclear business has been awarded a contract to support the next phase of a Mexico utility's preparations for an extended power uprate (EPU) at the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant in Mexico.

Originally designed by GE, each of Laguna Verde's two boiling water reactors (BWRs) has an output of 695 megawatts. The plant is located in the state of Veracruz, 70 kilometers northwest of the city of Veracruz and 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Jalapa, the state capital, along the Gulf Coast.

Plant operator Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) awarded GE the contract to provide the safety and licensing evaluations required to support plans to boost Laguna Verde's output by as much as 20%.

Under its multi-phase contract with CFE, GE will provide the engineering analyses required to support development of a Safety Analysis Report (SAR), which will be submitted to Mexico's nuclear regulator for approval. In addition, GE will implement its Performance 20(SM) reliability evaluation product to identify plant modifications and preventative maintenance programs that maintain or improve plant reliability and availability at the increased power levels.

The EPU uses GE's latest nuclear technology to improve plant output (by up to 20%) and generates other benefits that include operation at reduced core flows for enhanced plant operation; improvements to the power range neutron-monitoring system; and use of the advanced TRACG core-wide transient nuclear analysis model, which provides a more realistic and less restrictive analysis of plant performance.

GE will also implement a proprietary process to perform a detailed structural evaluation of steam dryer performance at power uprate conditions. This process will utilize GE's state-of-the-art scale model testing facility and methodology.

GE and CFE have a long partnership, including through GE's role as the nuclear steam supply system vendor and fuel provider for Laguna Verde through its Global Nuclear Fuels (GNF) joint venture. CFE is performing a number of evaluations required to develop the SAR. The utility also is responsible for any plant modifications required to support its operation at the uprated level, such as replacing the high-pressure turbine section and feedwater heater system.

The Laguna Verde contract - which should culminate with EPU implementation in 2009 and 2010 - is GE's latest power uprate project, as a growing number of plant operators around the world continue to seek ways to boost the production, efficiency and safety of their reactor fleets.