Ukraine's Ministry of Energy has restored Energoatom’s ability to influence its own financial planning and the process of appointing a company president, in a newly approved corporate charter that has been submitted for state registration. The state-run nuclear power plant operator had started legal action to force the move before its dialogue with the ministry was resumed.

Exports of nuclear energy equipment and technology to meet the needs projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change could be worth USD1.3-1.9 trillion to the USA over the period to 2050, a new report by consulting firm UxC has concluded.

Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator will thrive in a free market and be able to export surplus electricity if the government removes impediments to its success, Herman Halushchenko, Energoatom's vice president of development, said in an interview with Energy Club last week. Asked where he sees the company in five years, he said: "There is good phrase for this - 'We are doomed to succeed'. We must give this unique company the opportunity to become truly successful."

Five people, including the Speaker of Ohio's House of Representatives, have been charged in a federal racketeering conspiracy involving USD60 million related to legislation passed last year to provide financial support to two nuclear power plants.

The nuclear energy industry provides more numerous, better-paid and more highly-trained jobs than does the wind power sector, according to a technical position paper published today by World Nuclear Association. It provides around 25% more employment per unit of electricity generated.
 

Energoatom has had to adjust its fuel delivery schedule owing to its financial problems, but the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator is still ensuring a diverse range of suppliers, Natalya Shumkova, the state-run company's executive director for nuclear and radiation safety and scientific and technical support, said last week.

A group of 32 companies and organisations from the UK nuclear supply chain have formed a consortium to encourage the government to support a state-guaranteed financing model for Sizewell C, the proposed new nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast. The Sizewell C Consortium said today it intends to sign agreements that ensure 70% of the project's construction value would go to UK companies.

Rusatom Service and MVM Group have formed a joint venture in Hungary to provide service and maintenance to nuclear industry facilities, conventional sources of power generation, renewable energy and oil and gas in Europe, they announced yesteday. The new company, European Power Services Ltd, will start work at the Paks nuclear power plant.

Darlington unit 1 has set a new Canadian and North American nuclear record with 895 consecutive days of unbroken operation. Ontario Power Generation's Candu reactor has now been online since 26 January 2018 without needing to be taken out of service for maintenance or repair.

EDF is revising upwards its nuclear output estimate in France for 2020, to around 315-325 terawatt-hours. In April, the French state-owned utility said it expected generation this year to be about 300 TWh, down from an initial expectation of 375-390 TWh before the coronavirus outbreak.

French utility EDF yesterday permanently shut down unit 2 of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in eastern France as scheduled. Its closure, together with that of unit 1 in February, was necessary under the country's energy transition law before EDF can bring new nuclear capacity online.

Ringhals AB - operator of Sweden's Ringhals nuclear power plant - has entered into an agreement with national electricity transmission system operator Svenska Kraftnät regarding the availability of unit 1 at the plant. The agreement aims to secure the voltage stability and short-circuit power in the transmission network to handle the operating situation in southern Sweden during the summer.