Slovenské Elektrárne has strengthened operational safety at unit 3 of Slovakia's Mochovce nuclear power plant ahead of commercial operation, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. The team said the plant management had made significant progress in addressing the findings of a previous IAEA review in 2019.

Finnish utility Fortum today submitted its environmental impact assessment report for the Loviisa nuclear power plant to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The report assesses the environmental impacts of a potential extension of the operation of the plant's two VVER-440 pressurised water reactors or, alternatively, the decommissioning of the plant, as well as the environmental impacts of the final disposal facility for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

Nuclear reactors generated a total 2553 TWh of electricity in 2020, down from 2657 TWh in 2019, according to the latest World Nuclear Performance Report released by the World Nuclear Association. Despite the small decline, the Association's Director General, Sama Bilbao y León, said "the resilience and flexibility shown by the global nuclear fleet tell a very positive story."

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group has started its second review at Belarus' Ostrovets nuclear power plant. Experts from eight European countries will spend three days verifying that recommended safety improvements have been carried out.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced the start-up of the second unit at UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant, thirteen months after Barakah unit 1 reached first criticality. Unit 2's start-up sees Barakah become the first multi-unit nuclear power plant in the region.

Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger has called on President Joe Biden to consider the use of emergency powers to keep the Byron and Dresden nuclear power plants in operation, at least until the enactment of new state or federal laws to ensure a "level playing field" for such plants. Separately, Exelon said its Illinois nuclear fleet, including Byron and Dresden, operated at full power levels during the hottest July on record.

In order to help the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission evaluate the safety of the next generation of nuclear power reactors, fuel cycle facilities and fuel technologies, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have been expanding their severe accident modelling computer code, called Melcor, to work with different reactor geometries, fuel types and coolant systems.

The loading of spherical fuel elements has begun at the demonstration high-temperature gas-cooled reactor plant (HTR-PM) at Shidaowan, in China's Shandong province. The milestone came one day after the issuance of an operating licence for the twin-unit plant, which is scheduled to start operations later this year.

Regular electricity production at the Olkiluoto 3 EPR is now expected to begin in June 2022 due to extended turbine overhaul and inspection works, Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj announced. The extension of those works has already led to a one-month delay in the plant's start-up.

An open letter to the prime minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, has called for the country's anti-nuclear policies to be re-evaluated and for Belgium's nuclear facilities and skills to be positively applied in an effort to avert climate change. Writing in the major newspaper La Libre, a group of young engineers called Horizon 238 appealed to De Croo: "Our country is about to make a decision that will irreversibly shape its energy landscape for decades to come, and which will undoubtedly become one of the most significant chapters of your government's legacy."

Small modular reactor developer NuScale Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Xcel Energy Inc to explore the feasibility of Xcel Energy serving as a plant operator at NuScale plants. Portland, Oregon-based NuScale is seeking an experienced nuclear plant operator to provide potential customers with operational support.

Swiss drone developer Flyability has launched an indoor drone equipped with a radiation sensor specifically for conducting inspections at nuclear facilities. The Elios 2 RAD is designed to help maintain low radiation exposure levels to nuclear facility workers. It does this both by taking the place of personnel where possible for visual and radiation data collection, and by providing high-quality data for planning interventions that do require exposure, so that it can be kept to a minimum.