The Czech Republic needs to decide on the mechanisms for financing the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants "as soon as possible", the executive director of the International Energy Agency said this week.

Fennovoima's environmental impact assessment program for its own used nuclear fuel disposal facility is "comprehensive" and meets legal requirements, Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy has said. However, the ministry expects Fennovoima to continue cooperation with the licensees of the Onkalo repository project at Olkiluoto.

Russia has put into operation its first near-surface final nuclear waste repository for solid low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management (NO RAO) has announced.

Swiss nuclear power plant operators face lower or even no contributions to the country's decommissioning and waste disposal funds over the period 2017-2021, primarily due to the delay of some ten years in commissioning a deep geological repository.

The UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has announced its total planned expenditure for 2017-2018 will remain almost the same as last year at GBP3.24 billion ($4.1 billion). The government will fund GBP2.36 billion of this, while GBP0.88 billion will come from income from commercial operations.

Donald Trump today announced his intention to nominate former Texas governor Rick Perry as US Energy Secretary when his administration takes office in January. The President-elect said yesterday ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is to be nominated as Secretary of State.

Hungary's commitment to nuclear power reflects its dedication to meeting ambitious global climate change targets as outlined by the International Energy Agency, government officials told delegates at the Budapest Energy Summit last week. Hungary joined the IEA in 1997.

Four Russian cities have expressed an interest in using small reactors to supply heat and power, according to Yuriy Kuznetsov of NA Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET). A Rosatom feasibility study has concluded that up to 38 cogeneration reactors could potentially be deployed at 14 sites for this purpose.

Entergy Corporation yesterday announced plans to close the Palisades nuclear power plant by 1 October 2018. The company has also agreed to the early termination of an agreement under which Consumers Energy was to buy almost all of the Michigan plant's output until 2022.

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner yesterday signed energy legislation that will ensure the continued operation of the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear power plants.

Significant social and industrial development are fundamental added values that come when bringing in nuclear power to a country keen to advance, writes Luis Echávarri in an open letter responding to the cancellation of Vietnam's nuclear program.

Wind and solar power are transforming the electricity industry, but not fast enough to put the world on track for the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement target to hold the global temperature increase well below 2°C, according to László Varró, chief economist of the International Energy Agency. This "climate stabilisation" target needs nuclear power to play a significant role in the low-carbon power mix, Varró told delegates at the Budapest Energy Summit yesterday.