World Nuclear News

EPZ applies to use MOX fuel at Borssele

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:59:44 GMT

EPZ has applied for government permission to use mixed-oxide fuel in the Borssele nuclear power plant. The company also wants to "improve its use of recycled uranium," which it has been loading into Borssele for the past few years.

BE's apprentices to set sail

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:00:39 GMT

The company at the centre of new build in the UK, British Energy (BE), has signed a major contract to train engineers for current and future power stations.

Saskatchewan and Alberta vie for nuclear plant

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:39:42 GMT

[Canwest News Service, 7 May] The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are competing to house western Canada's first nuclear power plant, Saskatchewan's minister of natural resources said. Speaking at a meeting of energy regulators in Calgary, Bill Boyd said: "We have had early, very preliminary discussions with Bruce Power about the potential in Saskatchewan." He added that Bruce Power has "indicated to us, as well, that the site selection might be more appropriate in our province, so we are interested in that and are looking at it." Boyd said that Saskatchewan, which produces about one third of the world's uranium, would welcome the investment in a nuclear power plant. He said, "We are comfortable with the science and we certainly believe it is something we want to take a look at." Noting Saskatchewan's extensive uranium resources, Boyd commented, "it certainly makes sense for us to take a look at the next stages of development, upgrading, refining and through to generation." He suggested that Alberta and Saskatchewan could pursue one project, located in Saskatchewan, which might be "complementary to both jurisdictions." Bruce Power has already identified Peace River in Alberta as a potential site for a nuclear power plant.

US, Chinese AP1000 contracts

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:09:18 GMT

A design and services contract has been signed for the forthcoming nuclear power reactors at Sanmen, China. At the same time, components for the same AP1000 design have been ordered for the first three such American units.

No baseload bids against planned Vogtle units

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:39:47 GMT

No market bids have been forthcoming in response to Georgia Power's request for proposals for 2016-2017 base load capacity, clearing the way for the continued review of its plans to build new nuclear units at Vogtle.

Nizhniy Novgorod plans nuclear power plant

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:20:44 GMT

The governor of the Nizhniy Novgorod region of Russia has said that a nuclear power plant will be constructed either in the Urensky district or the Vyksunsky industrial area under the federal government's nuclear energy plans to 2020.

Areva selects enrichment site

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:07:48 GMT

Areva has confirmed a site 30 kilometres west of Idaho Falls, near the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, as the place for its potential new $2 billion centrifuge enrichment plant. It is just one of several plans for new uranium enrichment in the USA.

Nuclear cooperation for USA and Russia

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:57:01 GMT

The USA and Russia have signed a landmark deal on nuclear cooperation to facilitate trade and allow joint ventures between companies. It is an essential step for the nations which want to cooperate on a range of strategic initiatives.

Volgodonsk battles to third place

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:02:11 GMT

The Volgodonsk nuclear power plant has hosted the All-Russia Hand-To-Hand Combat Tournament for the third time. The two-day event attracted competitors from 23 Russian regions. Of the 107 fighters present, 12 were acknowledged as masters of the sport. Competitors from five nuclear power plants - Kola, Leningrad, Beloyarsk, Kursk and Volgodonsk - took part in the competition. Russia's overarching nuclear coordinating corporation, Rosatom, said that nuclear plants are "specific facilities requiring enhanced protection and guarded by strong and well-trained men." While representatives from the nuclear power plants won medals in the various weight groups, the team from the Volgodonsk plant were named the third-best team of fighters, after the team from the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the team from the Volgograd region. Among the nuclear plants, Volgodonsk was best, followed by Kursk and Leningrad. The director of the Volgodonsk plant, Alexander Palamarchuk, presented medals to the winners and invited the fighters to come again next year. In last year's competition the Volgodonsk plant came second, ahead of Volgodonsk region but behind the Moscow branch of the Federal Security Service.

Deadlock remains on US-India nuclear deal

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:45:43 GMT

[Bloomberg, 6 May; Hindustan Times, 7 May] India's federal ruling coalition and its communist allies failed to break the deadlock on the stalled civilian nuclear agreement with the US as their eighth meeting ended inconclusively on 6 May. In the meeting, the coalition and communist allies discussed the outcome of the negotiations between the government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "The Left parties have sought further clarifications, which will be provided in the next few days." He added that, "Further discussion will be held at the next meeting of the committee to be held on 28 May." India's communist parties have been vociferous in their opposition to the bilateral agreement on the grounds that its conditions would give the USA influence over Indian foreign policy, and had threatened to withdraw their support from the coalition government if it were to proceed. "In terms of India, the issue is with Indian politics and the Indian government working on their end to try to resolve any issues they may have," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked if the deal was "just dead or is moving forward."

Green light for Opal restart

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:40:42 GMT

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (Ansto) announced on 5 May that it had been given the go-ahead to restart the Opal research reactor following approval on 1 May by the country's nuclear safety regulator for it to use a modified fuel design, altered to prevent dislodgement of nuclear fuel plates. The Open Pool Australian Light-water (Opal) reactor began commissioning in 2006, reaching full power during November that year. However, it was shut down in July 2007 following the partial displacement of some fuel plates. Ansto's CEO, Ian Smith, said: "It has been a frustrating time for all involved. However, it was important that these painstaking steps were taken to ensure that Opal can recommence operating." He added, "We are hoping that full power of 20 MWt will be achieved in a few weeks' time, but this has to be done gradually. It's not just a case of flicking a switch." Meanwhile, Ansto has announced that Dr Smith has decided not to accept an extension to his contract and will leave office on 16 May following four years as the organisation's CEO. He plans to return to New Zealand with his family. Ron Cameron, currently chief of operations, will act as CEO until Smith's successor is appointed.

Yellowcake for Bluerock?

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:20:50 GMT

CORRECTEDDays after proudly announcing the first production of ore from its J-Bird mine in Colorado, wannabe uranium producer Bluerock Resources has made a pitch to build its own mill in Utah.

Japan and Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:13:45 GMT

[Reuters, 5 May] Japan and Kazakhstan have agreed to increase cooperation in uranium mining and nuclear energy. Kanae Yamamoto, Japan's parliamentary secretary for economy, trade and industry, speaking to reporters during a visit to the Kazakh capital Astana, said: "We have signed a memorandum saying Japan and Kazakhstan will further strengthen cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy." She noted that production at Western Mynkuduk, the first Kazakh uranium deposit to be developed with Japanese company investment, would start in June, while the second joint project, the Khorasan deposit, will start later. Yamamoto said that "annual output will be 5000 tonnes (of uranium ore) at Khorasan and 1000 tonnes at Western Mynkuduk." She did not disclose how much the Japanese had invested in Kazakh projects. In 2007, Kazatomprom signed a deal with Japanese companies, Kansai Electric Power Co, Sumitomo Corp and Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd to supply fuel for Kansai's nuclear power plants.

Carbon charges make nuclear cheapest choice

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:15:51 GMT

Carbon dioxide charges and federal incentives would increase nuclear energy's cost competitiveness against other generation options making it the USA's most competitive source of new generation in the long run, a study by the Congressional Budget Office has found.

CNSC creates directorate for new projects

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:44:48 GMT

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced that it has created a new directorate to "meet the new challenges of new major projects," such as new uranium mines and power reactors.

Collaboration leads to new nuclear shield

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:55:38 GMT

A new material is being commercialized for radioactive waste storage after collaboration between US and Russian national laboratories. With boron in the mix, it will be a better neutron blocker.

Bushehr shipment released by Azerbaijani customs

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:17:37 GMT

[Associated Press, BBC, 1 May] After over a month, Azerbaijan has allowed a shipment of Russian equipment for the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran to continue. The cargo of heat-isolating equipment was stopped at the Astara customs checkpoint on 29 March and was held there whilst Azerbaijan requested more information about the nature of the goods. Azerbaijani authorities said they were concerned that equipment could violate United Nations sanctions. Khazar Ibragim, a spokesman for Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, told AFP, "We received the information from Russia, studied it and then we decided to let it go." AtomStroyExport (ASE), the Russian stated-owned company supplying Iran with the reactor, has accused Azerbaijan of deliberately obstructing the shipment.

BE renews engineering and technical support contract

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:07:49 GMT

British Energy has renewed a contract worth up to £20 million ($40 million) annually over five years for engineering and technical support to its nuclear power plants with a team of strategic partners.

Ministerial nuclear council

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:54:56 GMT

France is to create a top-level council on nuclear energy. Consisting of ministers and chaired by the President, it will decide France's nuclear policy. The move clearly underlines the importance of nuclear technologies to France in terms of economic strength as well as power supply and military capability.

Fennovoima obtains more land in Kristinestad

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:02:55 GMT

Fennovoima announced on 30 April that it has leased some 250 hectares of land in Kristinestad, in western Finland, from six private landowners. The agreements include an option for it to purchase the land, on the north side of Storträsket lake, which is sufficient to site a nuclear power plant. Fennovoima said that because of technical regional planning, a nuclear power plant could be located some distance from the lake shoreline. The company said that cooling water could be transported by underground and underwater tunnels "that can be kilometres long if needed." Kristinestad specified that Fennovoima must obtain sufficient land for a nuclear power plant before the municipality would start its land planning. Fennovoima is currently conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in Kristinestad, Pyhäjoki, Ruotsinpyhtää and Simo for a potential nuclear power plant. The company has also made land purchases in the other municipalities.