Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described his support for the country to expand its use of nuclear power. Zelensky was speaking to reporters during his visit to the Rovno region on 1 October.

Public Service Enterprise Group yesterday applied for a three-year extension to the Zero Emission Certificates for the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants. The units had been under threat of closure until New Jersey awarded the ZECs in April 2019, but PSEG said power markets have deteriorated significantly since the first ZEC eligibility period began.

The climate emergency has further boosted Czech support for nuclear energy, Zuzana Krejčiříková, director of public affairs at ČEZ Group, said last week during a webinar hosted by the Expert Group on Resource Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The largely state-run utility's transparent approach to new-build projects has also helped public acceptance of the government's plans to support the expansion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant, she said.

Ukraine's Energoatom has welcomed a presidential decree that orders the government to submit bills concerning the country's nuclear power sector. The operator of the country's 15 reactor units said President Volodymyr Zelensky's move was "strategically important and timely".

The USA and Bulgaria recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on civil nuclear cooperation. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov noted that nuclear energy is one of the "greenest and cleanest" energies and that is why the country wants to use "safer technology of the latest generation" and to achieve diversification of nuclear fuel.

The falling costs of renewable energy, such as solar PV and wind, do not give governments an accurate picture of how to invest in low-carbon generation, Michel Berthélemy, a nuclear energy analyst at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, said last week during a webinar hosted by the Expert Group on Resource Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

The Netherlands is considering the expansion of nuclear power in its energy mix, according to a letter Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Eric Wiebes submitted to the Dutch parliament last week, together with a report by consultants Enco. The cabinet will now prepare a motion requesting that the country holds a market consultation to assess commercial interest in nuclear new build.

World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising said today that the changes needed to transition to a more sustainable future will not happen without the participation of a diverse workforce, and the greater inclusion of women. Speaking to participants in a side event to the International Atomic Energy Agency's 64th General Conference, Rising said the energy sector remains one of the most gender-imbalanced, and that the nuclear sector was no exception.

The United Arab Emirates' world records in the development of solar power do not distract from an ambition to expand its use of nuclear energy to help facilitate the transition to a clean economy, UAE Minister of Energy Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui said yesterday. In his address to the 11th Clean Energy Ministerial, the minister explained the progress the UAE has made with its Energy Strategy 2050.

The 2020s are likely to be a time of uncertainty for global energy systems with the growing recognition that business-as-usual is unsustainable and represents a threat to humanity, but the global transition to low-carbon energy and the post-COVID recovery will be a time of opportunity for the nuclear energy sector and its supply chain, according to the 2020 edition of a World Nuclear Association report that analyses the economic value of the nuclear power industry. The report is the work of the Association's Supply Chain working group, which is chaired by Laurent-Olivier Coudeyre of EDF.

The nuclear industry has merely scratched the surface of the flexible benefits of nuclear power, according to panellists in a conference held this week ahead of the 11th Clean Energy Ministerial. The CEM11 side-event, Flexibility in Clean Energy Systems: The Enabling Roles of Nuclear Energy, included high-level speakers from the International Energy Agency, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as government officials from Canada, the UK and the USA. Hosted by Saudi Arabia, CEM11 will take place on 22 September.