The OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency - together with the International Atomic Energy Agency - plans to publish new guidance on improving cost estimates of nuclear decommissioning projects. Simon Carroll, a senior analyst with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, told delegates at the Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Conference Europe that the guidance addresses project risk and uncertainty in cost estimates "in a more comprehensive fashion" than existing practice.

Germany is offering a great opportunity for new suppliers of decommissioning services because over the next five years all of its shutdown nuclear power plants will enter the decommissioning phase, Jörg Klasen, director of nuclear decommissioning services at EnBW, said yesterday. Klasen spoke at the 8th Annual Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Conference Europe 2017 being held in Manchester, England. Asked where they see the biggest opportunities in nuclear decommissioning and waste management over the next five years, 57% of the conference delegates selected Germany. The UK, France, Sweden and Switzerland followed with 30%, 6%, 2% and 2%, respectively.

The US nuclear energy industry must work together to strengthen existing relationships and build new coalitions among supporters of nuclear energy's different attributes, according to Nuclear Energy Institute president and CEO Maria Korsnick.

The UK should focus on developing small modular reactors (SMRs) to secure its nuclear industry after the country's exit from the European Union, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In its report Leaving the EU, the Euratom Treaty Part 2: A Framework for the Future, issued on 5 May, IMechE says SMRs could "present the UK with key export opportunities and return the country to the international nuclear reactor supply arena".

The UK government needs to work closely with industry to bring about replacement arrangements for the European Atomic Energy Community in a timely manner for the country's nuclear industry, the Nuclear Industry Association says in a position paper published today. The NIA represents more than 260 companies including nuclear power station operators, new build developers and vendors, those engaged in decommissioning, waste management, all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, supply chain and consultancy companies.

Significant changes in technology development and global governance are needed for nuclear energy to continue playing a vital role in combating climate change, according to a new report from the Global Nexus Initiative (GNI). The report makes recommendations to address these issues.

As the US Congress begins hearings on proposals to amend 35-year-old legislation on nuclear waste policy, the US Nuclear Energy Institute has called on the administration to facilitate the licensing of the Yucca Mountain repository and private interim storage facilities.

Two UK parliamentary committees have published separate reports - one related to research and development, the other concerning Brexit - that both call on the government to take action to ensure the future competitiveness of the country's nuclear industry.

The "30-day window which ends imminently" on the fate of Westinghouse's US nuclear power plant projects is "critical" to the national interest and to the interest of the industry as a whole, Dan Lipman of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has told the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle (WNFC) conference in Toronto, Canada. Westinghouse said it would no longer spend money on the Summer and Vogtle projects, but reached an agreement with the utilities involved to allow them to pay costs during a 30-day interim period.

A ruling by South Africa's High Court setting aside the country's nuclear procurement plans is centred on procedural issues and makes no determinations on the argument for nuclear energy, the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa said today.

The nuclear governance system is facing an "unprecedented challenge" as traditional nuclear suppliers that have "built the backbone" of the safety, security, and non-proliferation regime face new competition to provide technology to emerging nations, according to a policy report by the Global Nexus Initiative. The GNI, which is co-sponsored by the Partnership for Global Security and the Nuclear Energy Institute, plans to publish the report, Evolving Nuclear Governance for a New Era, on 2 May.

Foratom, the European nuclear trade body, has today published a position paper on the European Commission's 'Clean Energy for All Europeans' package of measures for a clean energy transition. The organisation says the EU's aim to decarbonise the economy by more than 80% by 2050 cannot be achieved without nuclear power.