The UK's National Grid has unveiled proposals for a £2.8 billion ($3.4 billion) project to connect NuGeneration's planned nuclear power plant at Moorside in West Cumbria into the country's electricity network, ahead of ten weeks of consultation between 28 October 2016 and 6 January 2017.

Yesterday marked 60 years since the opening of the world's first commercial nuclear power plant at Calder Hall in west Cumbria in England. Opened on 17 October 1956 by Queen Elizabeth II, Calder Hall was in operation for 47 years.

Small modular reactors offer significant benefits to the UK, experts have said, but government must clarify whether it wants near-term deployment or maximum value to domestic industry, while industry has to efficiently mass produce to realise economic savings.

The second and final shipment of high-level waste from the UK to Switzerland has been completed. The waste resulted from the reprocessing and recycling of used nuclear fuel from Swiss nuclear power plants at Sellafield.

Westinghouse will work with UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird as well as the country’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) on a study to explore potential design efficiencies to reduce the lead times of its small modular reactor.

A complex remote cutting job is underway at Sellafield to enable the removal of cladding waste from an outdated silo. Engineers are using an innovative jet to remove plates of steel while maintaining an inert atmosphere important for safety.

A global pioneer in all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, the UK wants its collaboration with international partners to continue apace. This was the message of the country's delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference held last week in Vienna. The delegation included specialists in nuclear education, research, design, fuel, policy, law and finance.

Rolls-Royce will in the "coming weeks" announce the consortium it has formed to launch a small modular reactor in the UK, a spokesman for the British company told World Nuclear News today. The consortium could provide a £100 billion ($127 billion) boost to the UK economy because the companies involved are either UK-owned or have a strong UK presence, the spokesman added.

Small modular reactors could be operating in the UK by 2030 if action is taken to create investor confidence through development of a suitable policy framework, according to a new report by the Energy Technologies Institute.

The final agreements enabling construction of two EPR units at Hinkley Point C to proceed were signed today in London by the UK government, EDF and China General Nuclear.

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has the expertise and resources it needs should it receive a request from government to assess China's Hualong One reactor design, its chief nuclear inspector, Richard Savage, said today. ONR's chief executive, Adriènne Kelbie, added that she sees no need for wholesale change at the organisation and that recruitment of inspectors and other staff is on target. They spoke to World Nuclear News during the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference being held this week in Vienna.