A Balancing Act: Increasing Output While Extending Lifespan in Nuclear Power
Today’s nuclear power plants are faced with two key challenges. The increasing demand, driven by factors like economic growth and population expansion, requires that they can produce more megawatts. But, as they focus on how they can produce more, they are also challenged by seeking opportunities to extend the life of existing infrastructure and equipment to lower operating costs, while maximizing capital expenditures.
But, as leaders at nuclear power plants grapple the best way to balance both of these initiatives, they are faced with one key question: How?
Effective power generation asset management can provide the right tools for leaders to balance the two, even if they sometimes have conflicting priorities and requirements.
Maximizing Output
By 2050, the International Atomic Energy Agency predicts that the nuclear electrical generating capacity will increase more than 2.5 times what it was in 2023. There are several factors that contribute to this.
Naturally, as the world’s population continues to grow, it will require more energy. The United Nations predicts that by 2050, the world’s population will grow by two billion people. And, as this population grows, the economic centers will naturally shift. Areas that have not had access to energy, or poor energy generation, will evolve and require more production – on top of the growing population.
For energy producers, this creates some challenges. They first need to adapt to the growing population and the increased energy needs due to this. It will require a shift in where energy must be produced and delivered, as well as which areas require the most energy.
This natural shift in people, resources, and where economy happens will require more output. For instance, as the world continues to scale with a tech-first mentality, data centers will become a critical feature of the American economic landscape. This will significantly impact energy production and delivery. Today, data centers consume about four percent of total energy in the United States – but this will increase to nearly 12 percent by 2028. Due to the extensive power required to operate these facilities, it’s requiring nuclear power generation facilities to re-evaluate the power they generate, as well as how they do business.
In considering the increased output requirements, power generation asset management programs and techniques will come into the forefront. For instance, finding ways to limit shutdowns – even those that are done proactively – will become important to maximize output.
In addition, it will require power asset generation management techniques to focus on how to maximize output by ensuring optimal operation. This will require that power generation asset management programs take an approach that leads with predictive maintenance, meaning that issues are identified and addressed before they create issues that require more extensive maintenance techniques. This helps to ensure ongoing operation while keeping the components operating at tip top shape, to reduce any issues that may occur.
Extending Equipment Lifespan
While nuclear power plants focus on how to maximize output, they are also challenged with how to make their equipment last for longer periods. This has become a focus for many, who have requested operation extensions. North Anna Power Station in Virginia, Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant in Wisconsin, and Dresden Clean Energy Center in Illinois are a few of the nuclear power facilities that have either announced their intent or received approval for their second 20-year extension, meaning that they can operate for up to 80 years.
With equipment being built for a much shorter term than what it’s now approved for, this creates challenges for asset management teams. Supporting equipment and technology has advanced in recent years to provide resources that helps to optimize the functionality of the infrastructure.
For many asset management programs, it starts with equipment reliability. This extensive maintenance program provides an action plan for optimizing the equipment, including:
- Defining your maintenance cycle plan
- Continuous improvement strategies
- Monitoring effectiveness of maintenance strategies
Power generation asset management programs should also focus on preventive maintenance. Advanced techniques – from vibration analysis to oil analysis – to predict any potential failures even before they occur. This helps to optimize the equipment, but can also give lift to teams. Engineers can stop focusing on reactive work, and instead, invest there time in adopting strategies and tactics that help to optimize equipment so that it can meet the requirements of operating for another 10, 20, or even 30 years.
Furthermore, the information can go further than just supporting maintenance programs. Capital planning continues to have a bigger focus for organizations. And, with the level of information captured on equipment and infrastructure due to predictive and preventive maintenance programs, it can help to inform how much should be spent, and where. This continues to be essential as organizations look to extend the lifespan of equipment.
Mastering the Balancing Act
The right tools can drive forward effective power generation asset management. Given the dynamics that nuclear facilities face, mastering how to balance the challenges of maximizing output while extending equipment lifespan comes to the forefront. Using a software platform, like ENGAGE from Endevor, can offer several benefits – from consolidating all data in a single place to helping teams prioritize and creating “what-if” scenarios to maximize capital planning expenditures.
By having all information about assets in one place, it can simplify scheduling and managing maintenance activities, which has a number of positive impacts. For one, it automates resourcing and makes it easier for organizations to manage. Someone calls in sick? Great, the software automatically updates who can handle the requests for the day – or slots them into a time where resources are available. Beyond that, it can serve as the basis for an equipment reliability program. With all asset management data living in one system, it informs which maintenance activities should be conducted when.
Perhaps the biggest benefit for organization comes from having actionable data that can inform critical decisions. Beyond having visibility into what’s happening, teams can leverage this data to inform critical decisions of what needs to be maintained when. In addition, it can provide insight into compliance with key regulations like 10 CFR 50.69, while providing the right documentation to support the initiatives at hand. And, in the case of extending the lifespan of essential equipment, this level of information can inform critical information on key replacements or planned shutdown decisions.
At the core of the evolution that the world faces comes a focus on more efficient and low-carbon power generation – both of which can be met with effective nuclear power generation. And, with the right power generation asset management strategies in place, the output and performance of nuclear power facilities will continue to shine bright now and in the future.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a demo with Endevor to learn how its ENGAGE platform helps 80% of the U.S. nuclear power industry.