EDF has withdrawn its financial targets for 2020 and 2021 as the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic impacts key areas of its business. In a statement yesterday, the French state-owned utility said these targets include the lower end of the forecast range for its core earnings in 2020 of EUR17.5 billion (USD19 billion).

France's Framatome has signed a long-term service contract with the Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited to support operations of units 1 and 2 at the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province. The 1750-megawatt EPRs entered commercial operation in December 2018 and September 2019, respectively.

Unit 2 at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington nuclear power plant has achieved first criticality after a refurbishment that has taken over three years to complete, including disassembling and rebuilding the reactor. The unit is expected to return to full service this Spring.

Reconstruction of unit 2 at the Darlington nuclear power plant in Canada has been completed and the process to restart the reactor can now begin, Ontario Power Generation has announced. The company will delay the planned start of the refurbishment of Darlington 3, scheduled to begin in May, as part of its measures to ensure stable electricity supplies during the COVID-19 crisis.

The US nuclear power sector shed more than 2000 jobs last year, according to a newly released report by the National Association of State Energy Officials and the Energy Futures Initiative. The sector employed a total of 60,916 workers across the country in 2019, which was over 3% less than in 2018, although employment in the nuclear fuel sector rose slightly.
 

Kazatomprom announced today it has completed the sale of its 50% interest (minus one share) in Uranium Enrichment Centre JSC (UEC) to its partner in the joint venture, TVEL. The world's biggest uranium producer disclosed the RUB6.253 billion (about USD100 million) transaction with the nuclear fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in January.

Energy Harbor Corp has rescinded the deactivation notices for the two-unit Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, which had been scheduled to shut down in 2021. Energy Harbor's decision comes after the state began the process to join a regional initiative aiming to reduce carbon emissions through the trading of emissions allowances.
 

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory have agreed an action plan to boost collaboration in energy, medical isotopes, waste management and decommissioning, while the Canadian Nuclear Association and the UK's Nuclear Industry Association have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in promoting nuclear technologies.

The president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, last week chaired a meeting on plans to reform fully state-owned enterprise Navoy Mining and Metallurgical Plant. The country's largest industrial enterprise, NMMP produces gold, uranium and rare metals as well as other products.

ProZorro, the public e-procurement system that Ukraine launched in 2016, saved nuclear power plant operator Energoatom more than UAH1 billion last year and the average number of offers per purchase increased by 8.5%. ProZorro was developed by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International Ukraine as a collaborative effort between the government, business sector and social groups.

Framatome has officially opened a new engineering research and operations centre at Cadarache in south-eastern France. It has also announced an expansion of its Intercontrôle automated non-destructive testing subsidiary, which is based at the same site.

Romania must recover around EUR13 million (USD14 million) of rescue funding from uranium company Compania Națională a Uraniului SA after the European Commission found a restructuring plan for the company did not meet European Union rules on state aid.