Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet
Comment & People Marie‑Elise Hoedemakers, senior policy advisor for international nuclear affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, has been elected next chair of the Nuclear Energy Agency’s Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy, replacing Richard Stratford of the US Department of State. Mrs Hoedemakers, who ...
Research & Development An expert panel in China said Candu Energy’s Advanced Fuel Candu Reactor (AFCR) should be further developed and that the proper time should be chosen to “initiate the construction of AFCRs”, Candu Energy said. The panel said the AFCR, which can use both recycled uranium ...
Research & Development Candu Energy of Canada and Chinese nuclear companies have opened an advanced fuel technology research and development centre in Beijing. China National Nuclear Corporation said the centre will be responsible for the strategic development of Candu research, fuel and isotope projects and technical support. Candu ...
Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet
Plant Operation Westinghouse Electric Company has filed an application to the High Court of South Africa in Johannesburg, charging Eskom with contempt of court because of the utility’s failure to supply documentation the court said should be delivered to Westinghouse within five calendar days of 5 September 2014.
Policies & Politics The Slovak government has approved a long-term energy plan based on a further expansion of nuclear power, cautious development of renewables, and reducing dependence on locally produced and imported coal. The framework reiterates the government’s target of building a new nuclear plant by 2030 at ...
Decommissioning The condition of two open-air storage ponds built in the 1950s and 60s at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, England is well known and well understood, with work going on around the clock, seven days a week to ensure they remain safe and secure, the Nuclear ...
Security & Safety The overarching lesson learned from the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident in Japan is that nuclear plant licensees and their regulators must “actively seek out and act on” new information and hazards that have the potential to affect the safety and security of nuclear plants, a ...
Plans & Construction China National Nuclear Corporation and Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency said they plan to increase cooperation in areas such as uranium supply, nuclear R&D and construction. Kazakhstan has already signed a preliminary agreement with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom for the construction and operation of its ...
Plans & Construction China National Nuclear Corporation has been given permission by the National Nuclear Safety Administration to begin cold testing of the Chinese-designed Changjiang-1 CNP-600 pressurised water reactor in the southern province of Hainan. The approval was issued after experts conducted safety checks and inspections between 28 ...
Posted by SONE on 30 October 2014 in Newsletters
SONE, with new blood, working for a real nuclear renaissance SONE is to continue its efforts, subject to resources, to secure a substantial nuclear-powered future for Britain. It will do so with a partly new team. The AGM, held on October 20 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, ...
Posted by NucNet on 30 October 2014 in Issues
SMRs and MSRs The similarity of the acronyms is confusing, but the two nuclear reactor concepts are quite different. Small Modular Reactors are seen as an alternative to the large water reactors now being built. It is argued that ever-larger reactors with their complex safety structure and systems, are examples of diseconomies of scale.
Posted by World Nuclear News on 10 October 2014 in WNN
The European Commission’s decision that the revised UK support package for EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear project is compatible with EU state aid rules does not necessarily provide an easy blueprint for subsequent projects. Other EU nuclear project sponsors and investors face a number of difficult issues that ...
Posted by SONE on 30 September 2014 in Newsletters
A call to arms: Your committee needs you If this year’s Annual General Meeting on Monday, October 20 does not entirely mark all change, SONE will nonetheless be seen to be gearing up for the future. First, the committee has appointed a new Secretary. He is Harold Bolter, ...
Posted by NucNet on 30 September 2014 in Issues
Can we afford it? The horrendous cost of renewable energy is highlighted in a report for Civitas by Dr John Constable of the Renewable Energy Foundation who claims that, together with VAT, it “would bring the annual additional cost to consumers to upwards of £16 billion a year ...
Posted by SONE on 30 August 2014 in Newsletters
Three warnings of fragility of energy supplies Three events this month have combined to demonstrate the fragility of the world’s energy supplies and Britain’s in particular. The first was Angela Merkel’s dash to Kiev when yet another sub-crisis of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea boiled up with a ...
Posted by NucNet on 30 August 2014 in Issues
People and the Planet This substantial, 132 page, Royal Society report of April 2012 is the work of 24 authors from 11 countries, and should be taken seriously. It gives an overview of the impacts of human population and consumption on the planet. Its concern is the continuing growth ...
