Root

SMR vendors apply for government funds

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:44:54 GMT

Three developers of small modular reactor (SMR) technology - Babcock & Wilcox, NuScale Nuclear and Westinghouse - have submitted applications to the US Department of Energy (DoE) for funding to support first-of-a-kind engineering, design certification and licensing.

UK draft energy reform bill unveiled

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:20:10 GMT

Draft legislation to reform the UK's electricity market to ensure secure, clean and affordable energy endeavours to secure the necessary investment for a low-carbon energy mix including new nuclear.

Jaczko moves on from NRC

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:40:23 GMT

Gregory Jaczko has resigned his chairmanship of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), saying the time was right to work on public safety in other ways. He will continue as chairman with safety his "paramount priority" until a successor is appointed.

Restart of Bruce reactor delayed

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:52:50 GMT

The long-awaited return to service of the refurbished unit 2 of the Bruce A nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada, has been delayed due to damage in an electrical generator on the non-nuclear side of the plant.

Significant step for WA uranium

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:11:52 GMT

Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended that the state's first uranium mine, Toro Energy's Wiluna, be allowed to go ahead.

EDF posts record carbon efficiency

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:03:41 GMT

The carbon intensity of generating capacity owned by the EDF group of companies fell below 100 g/kWh for the first time in 2011, while in France EDF's emission rate dived 25% to 30.4 g/kWh.

Power shift begins to move German industry

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:13:12 GMT

Germany's third largest aluminium producer has filed for bankruptcy as trade groups call for affordable power supply equivalent to the nuclear capacity taken off the grid as a response to the Fukushima accident.

Utilities join Westinghouse SMR alliance

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:37:59 GMT

Three major US nuclear utilities have joined an alliance formed by Westinghouse and Ameren to support the licensing and deployment of Westinghouse small modular reactor (SMR) technology.

Ghana coordinates nuclear planning activities

Warwick Pipe — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:45:41 GMT

Ghana is moving ahead with its plans to introduce nuclear energy into its energy mix. The government recently established an organization to coordinate the activities of all stakeholder institutions involved in the planning of the nuclear power plant project.

New French ministers assembled

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:15:14 GMT

France's new Council of Ministers has been announced, following the investiture of President Francois Hollande.

Rolls-Royce technology for AECL

Warwick Pipe — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:28:32 GMT

Rolls-Royce has completed the delivery of the final components of a multimillion dollar technology package for use at AECL's Chalk River site.

Low-dose study finds no effects

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:06:56 GMT

Mice exposed to low-dose radiation for an extended period showed no signs of DNA damage, said a study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that challenges existing radiation guidelines.

Westinghouse in Chinese crane joint venture

Warwick Pipe — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:29:24 GMT

Westinghouse subsidiary PaR Nuclear has agreed to form a joint venture with China's Taiyuan Heavy Machinery to produce cranes and fuel handling equipment for Chinese nuclear power plants, particularly those based on the AP1000 reactor.

Tails deal gives Paducah another year

Claire Maden — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:10:05 GMT

Newly finalised plans to transfer US Department of Energy (DoE) depleted uranium into the civil nuclear fuel cycle for re-enrichment will see the Paducah enrichment plant continue to operate for an extra year.

Critical time for UK government and industry

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:15:24 GMT

One week before the UK government tables its energy market reforms some key aspects of the package are still being decided. Its success will be vital to plans for nuclear new build, including the sale of Horizon Nuclear Power.

Areva, Mitsubishi explore Australia together

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:04:13 GMT

France's Areva is teaming up with Japan's Mitsubishi to explore for uranium in Australia. The move could lead to the formation of a joint venture, should promising deposits be identified.

Cameco to buy Nukem Energy

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:33:21 GMT

Canada-based uranium producer Cameco Corporation has agreed to acquire German trader and broker of nuclear fuel products and services Nukem Energy GmbH from Advent International.

Milestones at new Russian reactors

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:46:02 GMT

Construction of new nuclear power plants in Russia is advancing, with Kalinin 4 entering trial commercial operation and completion of the installation of the dome of the containment building at Novovoronezh Phase II unit 1.

Tepco faces $10 billion loss

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:04:00 GMT

Tepco's losses have been put at ¥781.6 billion ($9.8 billion) for financial year 2012. About half of this stems from the cost of compensation and cleanup; the other half is from the higher cost of generation in Japan's shaken power market.

Ningde 4 gets its dome

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:37:56 GMT

A major milestone in the construction of unit 4 of the Ningde nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has been reached with the dome of the reactor building being successfully lowered into place.

Spanish government starts turnaround

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:26:39 GMT

Moves to partially revoke an order to close the Garoña nuclear power plant in 2013 have formally begun.

Sandvik celebrates new mill

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:13:50 GMT

The world's largest dedicated mill for the manufacture of stainless steel and high nickel alloy steam generator tubes for nuclear power plants has opened at Sandviken in Sweden.

Tepco gets government bail-out

Warwick Pipe — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:58:55 GMT

The Japanese government has approved amendments to Tokyo Electric Power Company's (Tepco's) ten-year special business plan which effectively puts it, at least temporarily, under state control.

Eastern European projects gather momentum

Warwick Pipe — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:23:08 GMT

Lithuania's government has approved the draft concession agreement for the planned Visaginas nuclear power plant as part of major legislation on strategic energy projects, while Czech power company CEZ confirms it is looking for a strategic partner for Temelin.

Water waste set to become uranium resource in USA

Warwick Pipe — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:33:20 GMT

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided to allow uranium captured in water treatment filters to be processed by uranium recovery operations - without the need for any licence amendment.

Investigations continue into tube wear at SONGS

Warwick Pipe — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:30:12 GMT

More than 1300 steam generator tubes have now been plugged at Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California as the utility continues to investigate the cause of excessive wear in some of the tubes. It is not yet known when the two-unit plant will resume operation.

Hollande wins French presidential election

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:32:51 GMT

The Socialist Party's Francois Hollande has narrowly beaten Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election. It is unknown whether Hollande will carry through proposed large-scale cuts to France's nuclear generating capacity, including the closure of the country's oldest nuclear power plant.

Celebrations at South Korean groundbreaking

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:58:50 GMT

Preparations for the construction of two new light water reactors at Shin Ulchin have been marked by a visit to the site by South Korea's president Lee Myung-bak.

Greenland U project cost competitive

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:35:09 GMT

A pre-feasibility study indicates that a planned rare earth element and uranium project at Kvanefjeld in Greenland would be cost competitive with a mine life over 30 years.

Rosatom puts a ring on it

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:25:03 GMT

The reactor building dome is being assembled and installed in stages at Novovoronezh Phase II unit 1, Russian nuclear company Rosatom has said.

Last Japanese reactor in outage

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:42:57 GMT

Japan will find itself without nuclear power for the first time since 1970 as the last of its currently operating nuclear reactors prepares to go offline.

Horizon scanning

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:57:31 GMT

Realistic potential players are being linked to Horizon Nuclear Power, with US utility Exelon the latest to be named in the media. A wide range of firms can be expected to show interest in the UK new nuclear project company.

Kalinin 4 in late commissioning

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:31:38 GMT

Engineers bringing a new reactor into service at the Kalinin nuclear power plant have successfully completed most of their tests. The unit is slated for commercial operation in September.

Canadian new build getting nearer

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:48:45 GMT

The Canadian government has accepted the environmental assessment report for the possible construction of new nuclear capacity at Darlington, clearing the way for the issuance of a site preparation licence.

Levy nuclear project moved back by three years

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:14:24 GMT

Progress Energy has put back its nuclear new build plans by three years while requesting increased rates to finance the project. The Levy development should allow Florida to avoid becoming overdependent on currently cheap gas for power generation.

Activists move on presidential debate

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:53:49 GMT

A Greenpeace stunt has seen a paraglider drop smoke bombs on the Bugey nuclear power plant in France. It comes before a televised debate between President Nicolas Sarkozy and election rival Francois Hollande.

Texas waste facility gets to work

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:35:01 GMT

A low-level radioactive waste facility in Texas has started disposal operations, sealing away its first ever shipment of waste materials.

Uprates cost-effective despite price increase

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:41:55 GMT

Projected costs for ongoing uprates at four Florida Power and Light nuclear units have increased by over half a billion dollars - but will still save customers around $3.8 billion in fossil fuel costs over the long term, the utility claims.

Security software tie-up for national lab

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:57:59 GMT

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory has signed a partnership that will see it work with ARES to offer security simulation software to nuclear and other sites in the country.

Jordan shortlist down to two

Jeremy Gordon — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:57:55 GMT

Jordan's first nuclear power plant will be supplied by either AtomStroyExport of Russia or Areva-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joint venture Atmea.