NucNet

Posted by NucNet on 29 November 2016 in NucNet

Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK have developed a method to turn radioactive graphite blocks, a waste product of nuclear reactors, into artificial diamonds that generate electricity. These diamonds produce a small current that could last for thousands of years. Such long-lived “diamond batteries” could be used in spacecraft, pacemakers....

Posted by NucNet on 28 November 2016 in NucNet

The second stage of public consultation for the planned two-unit Sizewell C nuclear power station in Sussex has begun, developer EDF Energy said in a statement.

Posted by NucNet on 26 August 2016 in NucNet

Ian Chapman has been appointed chief executive officer of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) earlier this month, according to a statement on the organisation’s website. Mr Chapman will assume the new role on 1 October.

Posted by NucNet on 16 August 2016 in NucNet

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has asked state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute national research centre to prepare a proposal by 1 March 2017 on the prospects for using thorium for nuclear fuel, the Kremlin website said. The Kremlin said it wanted to establish a “coordinated position” ...

Posted by NucNet on 9 August 2016 in NucNet

China’s relations with the UK are at a “crucial historical juncture” amid doubts over the future of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, the Chinese ambassador to the UK said in an article for the Financial Times.

Posted by NucNet on 9 August 2016 in NucNet

The proposed Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Plant project has experienced controversy in the public since its inception. Some critics have raised concerns about UK infrastructure being foreign owned, being part owned by the French energy company EDF and part funded by China’s CGN Group. To secure the ...

Posted by NucNet on 9 August 2016 in NucNet

The company planning to build the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station in North Wales has announced the provision of £1m (€1.1m, $1.2m) of funding for Grŵp Llandrillo Menai College.

Posted by NucNet on 9 August 2016 in NucNet

EDF said in a statement on its website yesterday that it welcomed a decision by the High Court of Paris on 5 August 2016 to reject a request by EDF’s Central Works Committee to suspend the board’s 28 July decision to approve the Hinkley Point C.

Posted by NucNet on 28 June 2016 in NucNet

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom is seeing “considerable interest” from French companies in cooperating on Rosatom projects abroad, the director of the company’s international business department Nikolay Drozdov told a workshop on Russian-French cooperation in nuclear energy in Paris.

Posted by NucNet on 27 June 2016 in NucNet

Some primary bottom heads of steam generators installed at 18 of EDF’s 58 reactors in France could have a significant carbon concentration similar to the anomaly found on the reactor pressure vessel at the company’s Flamanville-3 EPR under construction in northern France, French nuclear safety authority ASN said.

Posted by NucNet on 26 April 2016 in NucNet

Thirty years after the accident at Chernobyl, key remediation and safety projects at the site in Ukraine are on track. Construction of the vital €1.5bn ($1.6bn) New Safe Confinement is almost finished with commissioning scheduled for November 2017.

Posted by NucNet on 20 April 2016 in NucNet

Germany’s environment minister has asked Belgium to take its Tihange-2 and Doel-3 pressurised water reactor (PWR) units offline for further investigations into their safety, the German federal ministry for the environment, nature conservation, building and nuclear safety (BMUB) said in a statement.

Posted by NucNet on 18 April 2016 in NucNet

Key components of the UK’s electricity market reform package need to be improved because of the “challenging” context of very low and falling electricity prices for generators, EDF Energy chief executive officer Vincent de Rivaz told a conference in London.

Posted by NucNet on 13 April 2016 in NucNet

The European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee has recommended postponing the granting of the 2014 budget discharge of Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU agency providing the European contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) project, F4E said.

Posted by NucNet on 11 February 2016 in NucNet

Nuclear energy can make a vital contribution to energy supply in the EU and should be used alongside renewables in countries that want it, a draft report by the European Parliament says.

Posted by NucNet on 10 February 2016 in NucNet

A new Euratom regulation on maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination in different types of foodstuffs following a nuclear accident or a radiological emergency entered into force on 9 February 2016.

Posted by NucNet on 5 February 2016 in NucNet

The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) will continue participating in international collaboration for research and development of Generation IV nuclear energy systems after a recommendation by an EU Council of Ministers working group was published on 29 January 2016.

Posted by NucNet on 28 January 2016 in NucNet

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed two 10-year framework agreements for decommissioning work at the Sellafield site in the UK, a statement said. One agreement is as part of the Cumbria Nuclear Solutions Ltd (CNSL) consortium and the other is as part of The Decommissioning Alliance (TDA) consortium.

Posted by NucNet on 28 January 2016 in NucNet

The UK’s Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), the country’s nuclear industry trade group, has appointed Tom Greatrex as its new chief executive, to replace the retiring Keith Parker, the London-based organisation said. Mr Greatrex will take up the post 1 February 2016..

Posted by NucNet on 19 January 2016 in NucNet

The UK’s ambitions to build small modular reactors may be realised as soon as 2025, according to Fluor Corporation’s NuScale unit, which is seeking to be a pioneer in the market, Bloomberg reported.

Posted by NucNet on 16 September 2015 in NucNet

NuGen has signed a long-term agreement with Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to support “safe and compliant operations” at its Moorside nuclear site in Cumbria, northwest England. The agreement was signed at the same time as NuGen’s recent land deal with the NDA, which confirmed ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 September 2015 in NucNet

As EDF Energy approaches a final investment decision for the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the UK, the company’s CEO, Vincent de Rivaz, has said it is “the right technology, at the right price, at the right time”. The 100,000th visitor to EDF Energy’s nuclear ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 September 2015 in NucNet

Unless the UK has new nuclear it is going to lose a vital source of reliable, secure low-carbon electricity, chairman of the London-based Nuclear Industry Association Lord Hutton has said. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Lord Hutton, a former secretary of state for business, said: “While we’ve seen ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 September 2015 in NucNet

The Sendai-1 nuclear reactor in southwestern Japan returned to commercial operation at 16:00 local time yesterday, the first reactor to resume full operation in Japan since the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident. Operator Kyushu Electric Power Company said commercial operation began after a comprehensive pre-service inspection was completed. The ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 September 2015 in NucNet

Kyushu Electric Power Company has begun loading nuclear fuel into the second reactor at its Sendai nuclear station in southwestern Japan after completing a pre-service inspection of the unit, the company said in a statement. According to Kyodo News the unit is scheduled to restart in mid-October ...

Posted by NucNet on 1 September 2015 in NucNet

A report published by the International Atomic Energy Agency assesses the causes and consequences of the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station in Japan. The report considers human, organisational and technical factors and aims to provide an understanding of what happened, and why, so that ...

Posted by NucNet on 2 July 2015 in NucNet

Ten companies including electricity suppliers and municipal utilities from Germany and Austria will in the coming days submit an appeal against the European Commission’s decision to allow state aid for the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, German energy cooperative Greenpeace Energy said in a press statement.

Posted by NucNet on 22 June 2015 in NucNet

The policy council of a Japanese ministry has endorsed plans by the nuclear regulator to increase the maximum annual radiation exposure limit for nuclear workers in emergencies to 250 millisieverts (mSv) per year from the current 100, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said. The proposal would allow ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 June 2015 in NucNet

A public ownership option should be introduced for new nuclear capacity in the UK, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research says today. The report, which looks at who is paying the most to fund the environmental and social policies that are wrapped up in the ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 June 2015 in NucNet

An examination into the failure of safety valves related to the pressuriser of the Areva EPR reactor is “ongoing” and the conclusions have not yet been submitted to the country’s regulator, France’s Institut de Radioprotection et Sûrete Nucleaire (IRSN) said in a response to media reports about ...

Posted by NucNet on 9 June 2015 in NucNet

The Group of Seven industrial powers’ agreement to cut greenhouse gases by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century is an “admirable initiative” that means all clean energy technologies, including nuclear, will have a role to play in the future energy ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 June 2015 in NucNet

The European Union must ensure a political and regulatory level playing field for all low-carbon energy sources – nuclear, wind, solar, hydro – in the EU energy mix, Westinghouse Electric Company said today. The company, whose technology is the basis for approximately half of the world’s commercial nuclear ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 June 2015 in NucNet

The UK’s new nuclear power stations and other energy infrastructure projects must be “designed to look beautiful” to garner essential public support, energy secretary Amber Rudd told The Independent newspaper. Ms Rudd said that with the government hoping to build new nuclear plants in the coming years it ...

Posted by NucNet on 22 May 2015 in NucNet

Between 1,400 and 1,600 jobs are set to be cut across 12 Magnox nuclear sites in the UK up to September 2016 under restructuring plans announced by Magnox Limited. The company said the mission to safely decommission the Magnox sites has always predicted reducing staff numbers over ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 May 2015 in NucNet

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has decided to increase the maximum annual radiation exposure limit for nuclear workers in emergencies to 250 millisieverts (mSv) per year from the current 100, starting from April 2016, a statement said. The standard worker dose limit for Japanese workers is 50 mSv per ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 May 2015 in NucNet

The replacement of fossil-fuel electricity by nuclear fission at a pace which could limit the more severe effects of climate change is technologically and industrially possible, but whether this will happen depends primarily on political will, strategic economic planning, and public acceptance, researchers say. In a paper published ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 May 2015 in NucNet

UK company Metalcraft has been awarded a contract potentially valued at £50 million (€69m, $78m) for the provision of stainless steel storage containers for nuclear waste at the UK’s Sellafield site in Cumbria, northwest England. Sellafield Ltd, the company responsible for decommissioning work at Sellafield, said Metalcraft was ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 May 2015 in NucNet

Lower fossil fuel prices and slower economic growth in Southeast Asia will lead to a decline in global growth of nuclear and renewable energy sources, a report by energy company BP said. BP’s Energy Outlook 2035 report tested the assumption that the economies of China and India grow ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 May 2015 in NucNet

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority has approved the start of tests on impervious underground “frozen walls” at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station site, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said. Tepco has been working on the walls as one way to deal with contaminated water coming from ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 April 2015 in NucNet

A £3.5 million (€4.8m, $5.2m) grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the UK’s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences, will enable the construction of an advanced new facility at the University of Huddersfield in northern England for the analysis of ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 April 2015 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Russia has transferred 57.5 billion roubles (about €925 million) from its sovereign wealth fund into preferred shares of Atomenergoprom, a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, for the construction of Finland’s planned nuclear power station Hanhikivi-1, the Russian ministry of finance said yesterday. In ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 April 2015 in NucNet

Uranium & Fuel Russia is “ready to supply fresh nuclear fuel and take back spent, irradiated fuel” from Iran’s operational nuclear reactor at Bushehr and any future reactors built with Russian participation, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said. “We are ready to do so throughout the life ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 April 2015 in NucNet

Plans & Construction 3 Apr (NucNet): The fourth and last steam generator for Russia’s Leningrad 2-2 nuclear unit under construction at Sosnovy Bor, west of St. Petersburg, has been shipped by manufacturer ZIO-Podolsk, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. The 430-tonne steam generator was ready 21 days ahead ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 April 2015 in NucNet

Policies & Politics Japan’s government plans to have 20 percent of the country’s electricity generated from nuclear energy by 2030, local media have reported. A panel set up by prime minister Shinzo Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party approved a proposal behind closed doors yesterday that would increase stable ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 April 2015 in NucNet

Plans & Construction EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of France’s EDF, will reduce the number of staff at the Hinkley Point C nuclear station site in Somerset from 650 to 250 after having completed the preparatory work and awaiting a final investment decision, the company said. “EDF Energy ...

Posted by NucNet on 30 March 2015 in NucNet

Comment & People More than 60 percent of Belgians support nuclear as part of the country’s energy mlix, with 75 percent saying they favour a combination of nuclear and renewable sources, a poll shows. The poll, published today by the Brussels-based Belgian Nuclear Forum (BNF), says 63 percent ...

Posted by NucNet on 20 February 2015 in NucNet

Policies & Politics Ministers responsible for energy in eight EU member states have written to the European Commission asking for a forthcoming action plan on EU energy policy to include nuclear power alongside other low-carbon technologies. The ministers of Romania, France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia ...

Posted by NucNet on 19 February 2015 in NucNet

Plans & Construction NuGen, the UK nuclear developer, will next week move its main office from London to Manchester. The company, developing Europe’s largest new nuclear project in West Cumbria, said Manchester was chosen for its proximity to key stakeholders such as regulators and supply chain companies. NuGen ...

Posted by NucNet on 19 February 2015 in NucNet

Decommissioning UK regulators have confirmed that Sizewell A is completely fuel-free with 99 percent of the radioactive hazard now removed from the former nuclear station in Suffolk, eastern England. Sizewell A’s two Magnox gas-cooled reactors operated from 1966 until 2006. Defuelling began in 2009, with fuel removed from ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 February 2015 in NucNet

Decommissioning The situation at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station in Japan remains “very complex”, with the increasing amount of contaminated water posing a short-term challenge and the need to remove highly radioactive spent fuel from the reactors that suffered meltdowns “a huge long-term challenge”, the International Atomic Energy Agency ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 February 2015 in NucNet

Plant Operation Nuclear energy accounted for the largest share of European Union domestic production of primary energy in 2013 with 29 percent, ahead of renewables (24 percent), solid fuels (20 percent), gas (17 percent), oil (nine percent) and non-renewable wastes (one percent), a statement released yesterday by the ...

Posted by NucNet on 27 January 2015 in NucNet

Security & Safety The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a petition by an anti-nuclear group that called for the agency to suspend the operation of the country’s 22 remaining General Electric boiling water reactors with a Mark I primary containment system, which are the same as Units ...

Posted by NucNet on 23 January 2015 in NucNet

Plant Operation Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract by EDF Energy to carry out boiler modification work at the two-unit Dungeness B nuclear power station in the UK, to support proposed plant lifetime extension to 2028. Rolls-Royce said the scope of work covers design, supply of parts, installation ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 January 2015 in NucNet

Decommissioning The UK government has stripped private consortium Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) of the contract to clean up the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, northwest England. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) announced today that ownership of Sellafield Ltd, the company that manages and operates the ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 January 2015 in NucNet

Plant Operation The Office of Nuclear Regulation granted permission for the Heysham A-1 nuclear unit in the UK to return to the grid after the discovery of a crack in a boiler spine in August 2014 led to it being shut down as a precautionary measure. The ONR ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 January 2015 in NucNet

Research & Development The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will work with three nuclear products and services companies on projects that it says could unlock the potential of advanced nuclear reactor designs, helping create a new generation of safer, more efficient reactors. The projects will ...

Posted by NucNet on 29 December 2014 in NucNet

Unplanned Events & Incidents Unit 6 at the Zaporozhye nuclear power station in Ukraine has been reconnected to the grid after the correction of a fault that led to its shutdown on 28 December 2014, operator Energoatom said. The Russian VVER V-320 unit is operating at 40 percent ...

Posted by NucNet on 29 December 2014 in NucNet

Plant Operation Russia’s Rostov-3 VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor unit was connected to the grid on 27 December 2014, state nuclear power station operator Rosenergoatom said. Construction of Rostov-3, near the city of Volgodonsk in southwest Russia, began in 2009. The Rostov station already has two VVER-1000 pressurised water ...

Posted by NucNet on 29 December 2014 in NucNet

Comment & People Fifty-eight percent of British adults support the use of nuclear power, including 21 percent who “strongly support” its use, according to a poll carried out by a new industry group. The poll, commissioned by New Nuclear Watch Europe, an interest group founded by the chairman ...

Posted by NucNet on 29 December 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety Stephen Burns, a 33-year veteran of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been designated by President Barack Obama as the commission’s new chairman with effect from 1 January 2015. Mr Burns, who has been an NRC commissioner since November 2014, will become the commission’s 16th ...

Posted by NucNet on 29 December 2014 in NucNet

Plant Operation The Fangjiashan-2 nuclear unit in Zhejiang province, eastern China, achieved first criticality on 25 December 2014, China National Nuclear Corporation said. Fuel loading at the Chinese-designed CPR-1000 pressurised water reactor unit began on 3 December 2014 and was completed ahead of schedule on 5 December 2014. ...

Posted by NucNet on 22 December 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety Computer systems at South Korea’s nuclear station operator have been hacked, but only “non-critical data” was accessed and drills are being carried out to prevent it happening again, the company said in a statement. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP) said there was ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 December 2014 in NucNet

Decommissioning Westinghouse Electric Company has won a contract to deliver a second skip handler machine for the UK’s First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) facility on the Sellafield nuclear site. The skip handler is a rail-mounted, heavy-duty crane that operates above a used-fuel storage pond. The FGMSP ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 December 2014 in NucNet

Plant Operation Members of Japan’s National Nuclear Union are sending a letter to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry calling for the early restart of Japan’s 48 commercial nuclear reactor units, all shut down for safety checks following the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident. The letter calls ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 December 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety All nuclear reactor units in Sweden should have a system of independent core cooling installed by 31 December 2020, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has said. In a statement on its website SSM said independent core cooling reduces the risk of meltdown and major ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 December 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics Nuclear energy is “carbon-neutral” and continues to be “a significant alternative” for electricity production, says a draft report published on 11 December 2014 by the European Parliament’s (EP) committee on industry, research and energy. The report, an answer to the European Commission’s European energy security ...

Posted by NucNet on 15 December 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics Major nuclear energy projects have been included in a list of priority investments that could be financed over the next three years as part of a €315 billion investment plan outlined recently by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Among the projects on the list, prepared ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 December 2014 in NucNet

Decommissioning The nuclear energy industry needs to be ready to manage “an unprecedented rate” of decommissioning with almost 200 of the 434 reactors that were operating commercially at the end of 2013 to be retired by 2040, a report by the International Energy Agency said. World Energy Outlook ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 December 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Russia may build between 20 and 24 nuclear reactor units in India against the 14 to 16 already agreed, the Times of India said, citing Russia’s ambassador Alexander Kadakin.

Posted by NucNet on 3 December 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Finland’s biggest electricity company, Fortum, is ready to make a significant investment in Fennovoima’s planned Hanhikivi nuclear power station in northern Finland. The deal would increase domestic ownership in the planned facility to over 60 percent.

Posted by NucNet on 2 December 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction NuGen has signed a cooperation agreement with the UK’s Treasury to promote financing for a new nuclear power station at Moorside, West Cumbria. NuGen said the agreement “establishes a process” to enable access to the government’s UK Guarantees Scheme, which was introduced in 2012 ...

Posted by NucNet on 1 December 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics The largest barrier to investment in the European energy sector is regulatory uncertainty, the director-general for energy at the European Commission (EC), said at a conference on shaping the EU’s energy policy to boost competitiveness. Dominique Ristori said at the Brussels conference that Europe ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 November 2014 in NucNet

Comment & People The largest barrier to investment in the European energy sector is regulatory uncertainty, the director-general for energy at the European Commission (EC), said yesterday at a conference on shaping the EU’s energy policy to boost competitiveness. Dominique Ristori said at the Brussels conference that Europe ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety A US Nuclear Regulatory Commission final safety evaluation report concluded there are no safety aspects that would prevent issuing a licence for construction and operation of a GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the Enrico Fermi nuclear power plant site ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction French nuclear group Areva has suspended its 2015 and 2016 financial targets, blaming delays to the Olkiluoto-3 EPR project in Finland, the slow restart of Japan’s reactors and a lacklustre nuclear market. Meanwhile today, EDF said the Flamanville-3 EPR being built by Areva in ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction An agreement has been signed for the construction and installation of the MBIR multipurpose fast neutron research reactor, which will be built at Russia’s Scientific Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) near Dimitrovgrad in western Russaia, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. The agreement, signed between ...

Posted by NucNet on 20 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety Nuclear reactor and materials licensees maintained their “excellent” safety record during the fiscal year that ended on 30 September 2014, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2014, issued yesterday. The report says the NRC’s chief achievement was ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 November 2014 in NucNet

Uranium & Fuel The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a 10-year extension of the construction authorisation for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River site in South Carolina. CB&I Areva Mox Services, formerly known as Shaw Areva Mox ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 November 2014 in NucNet

Decommissioning Tokyo Electric Power Company has removed the second of six panels that make up the roof covering the reactor building at Unit 1 of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station. The work is being carried out as a step towards the building’s dismantling, the Japan Atomic Industrial ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 November 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics India is in talks with the European Union to sign a civil nuclear cooperation agreement and the deal is expected to be signed next year, The Times of India reported. The newspaper quoted the EU’s ambassador to India, Joao Cravinho, as saying the agreement ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 November 2014 in NucNet

Comment & People Former US energy secretary and Nobel prizewinning physicist Steven Chu believes using a variety of reactor designs – as the UK looks poised to do – is not the best way to keep costs down. Mr Chu told The Guardian newspaper that although the British ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction China is expected to give the go-ahead by the end of the year for construction to begin on six new nuclear reactors at three sites, the First Financial Daily reported. The three sites are Hongyanhe, Shidaowan and Fuqing. The only one of the three that ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 November 2014 in NucNet

Decommissioning The nuclear energy industry needs to be ready to manage “an unprecedented rate” of decommissioning with almost 200 of the 434 reactors that were operating commercially at the end of 2013 to be retired by 2040, a report by the International Energy Agency said. World Energy Outlook ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Russia and Iran signed an agreement for the construction of up to eight new nuclear reactor units in Iran, the country’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said. IRNA said the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, signed the agreement in ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have confirmed that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Baltic nuclear power station under construction in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad complies with international standards, Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom said. Rosatom said the IAEA’s ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 November 2014 in NucNet

Uranium & Fuel A Russian company has developed and manufactured a remotely operated welding system that will be used in Russia for the production of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies for nuclear power reactors. Moscow-based civil engineering company Nikimt-Atomstroy said the system is used to feed and ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety The Doel-3 and Tihange-2 reactor units in Belgium could restart “at the end of winter”, GDF Suez, owner of Electrabel which owns and operates the units, said today. A spokesperson for Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (Fanc) said “the statement by GDF Suez is ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction China’s Generation IV demonstration high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), being built near the city of Rongcheng in Shandong province, will be completed in 2017, the ministry of science and technology said. The ministry also said the first layer of concrete for the 200-megawatt reactor project has ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction The second of four steam generators has been shipped from its construction site in Russia to the Tianwan-3 nuclear reactor unit under construction in in Jiangsu province, China, the engineering division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. There are two Russian VVER-1000 nuclear units ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 November 2014 in NucNet

Uranium & Fuel. A working group of Russian and Polish experts has carried out post-irradiation examinations on two fuel assemblies with low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in Poland’s Maria research reactor. The group said the assemblies have remained intact and do not have any external deformations. The delivery ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 November 2014 in NucNet

Plant Operation The operating licence of the single-unit Trillo nuclear power station in central Spain has been renewed for a further 10 years following government approval. The approval followed the submission last month of a report by the Spanish nuclear regulator to the Ministry of Industry approving the ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 November 2014 in NucNet

Uranium & Fuel The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licence for the Cameco-operated Crow Butte uranium mine in Nebraska for a further 10 years. The licence now has an expiration date of 5 November 2024. An environmental assessment found there would be “no significant environmental ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Installation has been completed of the irrigation system for the cooling tower at Unit 1 of the Novovoronezh 2 nuclear power station under construction in Voronezh Oblast, central Russia. The irrigation system allows efficient cooling of water coming from the turbine condensers. Novovoronezh 2-1 is ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Russia and Iran have today signed an agreement for the construction of up to eight new nuclear reactor units in Iran, the country’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said. IRNA said the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 November 2014 in NucNet

Unplanned Events & Incidents Levels of Caesium-134 found in samples of water taken from the Pacific Ocean off the US West Coast would have no impact on human health, fish or shellfish. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported that samples of water from 150km off the Californian coast ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction China and South Africa have signed an inter-governmental agreement that may lead to the use of Chinese technology for new nuclear reactor units in South Africa. Last month South Africa said it would sign strategic cooperation agreements with nuclear vendors and countries as it seeks ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction The presidents of Russia and Peru have discussed the possibility of Russia building a first nuclear power station in the South American country. According to a Russian presidential aide, Vladimir Putin told Ollanta Humala that Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom would be “willing to help”. ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Construction of the first of three sections of the radioactive waste processing plant at the Kursk nuclear power station in central Russia has been completed, Nikimt-Atomstroy, the company responsible for the project, has said. The completed section will process liquid radioactive waste and will be ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Bolivia and Argentina agreed to strengthen cooperation on nuclear energy technology, reported the Bolivian News Agency. According to the agreement, the two countries will set up five working committees to explore bilateral cooperation on “nuclear energy and nuclear medicine programmes”, space, digital TV, meteorological radars ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety Belarusian specialists will audit several Russian factories manufacturing components for the Belarusian-1 and Belarusian-2 nuclear units being built at Ostrovets, the Belarusian regulator said. A statement said the visits would take place before the end of the year. In July 2012, Russia and Belarus signed ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics The nuclear energy industry in the US has already begun to work with Congress on how to advance nuclear priorities through energy legislation next year, Alex Flint, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s senior vice-president for governmental affairs said in an interview posted on the institute’s website.

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety The condition of two open-air storage ponds built in the 1950s and 60s at the Sellafield nuclear site in 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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Representatives of Russia’s reactor design and development company Gidropress met officials from South Africa’s Department of Energy to present reactor technology that could be used for new build in the country, including the Generation III+ VVER-TOI light water reactor design. Last month South Africa said it would sign ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety The technology used to solve problems with reactor graphite swelling at the Leningrad-1 nuclear reactor unit in Russia will now be used to carry out similar work at other large RBMK units, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. The corporation’s annual report said the successful repairs ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Comment & People 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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Plant Operation The governor of Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture today approved the restart of the Sendai-1 and -2 nuclear reactor units after they became the first in the country to meet new safety standards imposed after the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said. Yuichiro ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Policies & Politics Claims that Belgium can do without nuclear energy are not realistic, Marie-Christine Marghem, the country’s new energy minister, said in an interview with the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper. “If someone claims that our country can do without nuclear energy in the medium- and long-term, they ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

Plans & Construction Work at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) at the Cadarache nuclear site in southern France is about to enter a new phase after it was announced that the concrete basemat that will support the tokamak complex has been completed. Fusion for Energy (F4E), the ...

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 November 2014 in NucNet

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.

Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet

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 ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 November 2014 in NucNet

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 NucNet on 21 August 2014 in NucNet

Westinghouse Electric Company and Blue Castle Holdings, a US energy infrastructure development company, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of two new AP1000 nuclear units in the state of Utah, Westinghouse said in a statement. Westinghouse said the two units are planned for a ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 July 2014 in NucNet

Japan’s nuclear regulator has said that two nuclear reactors meet new standards put in place after the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi disaster and can be restarted. The Nuclear Regulation Authority, in a 418-page report released today, gave Kyushu Electric Company preliminary approval to restart the two pressurised water reactor units ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 June 2014 in NucNet

The UK and Chinese governments have signed a “landmark” agreement which confirms that Chinese companies could own and operate a Chinese designed nuclear power station in the UK, provided they meet the stringent requirements of the UK’s independent nuclear regulator. The governments also signed a separate four-way civil ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 June 2014 in NucNet

China has successfully manufactured a steam generator and a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for an AP1000 reactor and both have passed hydrostatic testing and meet Westinghouse’s quality criteria, the China State Nuclear Power Technology Company (SNPTC) has said. The RPV passed pressure testing on 8 June 2014 and ...

Posted by NucNet on 9 June 2014 in NucNet

Three major economic organisations in Japan have issued an urgent appeal for the government to accelerate the process of restarting nuclear power reactors whose safety has been confirmed, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum has said. The Japan Federation of Economic Organisations (Keidanren), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and ...

Posted by NucNet on 5 June 2014 in NucNet

Uranium mining is one of the most regulated and safest forms of mining in the world, but remains controversial, principally because of environmental and health impacts associated with the early years of uranium mining, according to a new report by the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency.

Posted by NucNet on 5 June 2014 in NucNet

Hong Kong’s electricity supply will be more reliable and cost-competitive if it increases the amount of nuclear energy it imports from China through dedicated transmission lines, the Hong Kong Nuclear Society said. HKNS said it supports using more nuclear energy, but buying electricity from the China Southern Grid ...

Posted by NucNet on 28 May 2014 in NucNet

The diversification of nuclear fuel supplies could become a condition for any new investment in nuclear power stations to be built in the EU, especially when using non-EU technology, the European Commission says in its European Energy Security Strategy released today. The strategy, which the EC says was ...

Posted by NucNet on 27 May 2014 in NucNet

EDF’s costs to produce nuclear power from its fleet of 58 nuclear reactors in France are increasing as investment needed to keep aging reactors safe over the next two decades could reach 90 billion euros (EUR) (123 billion US dollars), the state auditor said. “Production costs from the ...

Posted by NucNet on 19 May 2014 in NucNet

Voters in the Swiss canton of Bern yesterday rejected an initiative to prematurely shut down the single-unit Mühleberg nuclear station, which is scheduled for closure in 2019. A clear majority of 63.3 percent said no to the proposal to immediately stop operation of the plant, which is owned ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

The World Association of Nuclear Operators (Wano), formed in 1989 after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, has marked the 25th year of its creation by establishing scholarships for four students aged 25 and under who are pursuing degrees in nuclear power generation.

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

More than half of the fuel assemblies from Fukushima-Daiichi-4 have been transferred to a central storage pool with the remainder scheduled to be removed by the end of the year, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said. In an operation that began in November 2013, Tepco has so ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

A senior executive at Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom has praised the UK’s model of support to encourage the development of new nuclear reactors. Nikolay Drozdov, director of Rosatom’s international business department, told the European Nuclear Conference in Marseille, France, that UK support in the form of ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has drawn up a list of 21 nuclear power stations in the central and eastern US that must carry out in-depth analysis of updated earthquake risks “as a matter of priority”, although all sites are considered safe for continued operation in the ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

An industry group in Chile has proposed to the government that the country builds enough nuclear power reactors to provide 30 percent of its electricity generation by 2030. The Nuclear Power Committee of the Association of Engineers said its “30/30” proposal would meet the 30 percent target with ...

Posted by NucNet on 16 May 2014 in NucNet

France is planning to introduce commercial fast neutron nuclear reactors (FNRs) in 2040. Christophe Béhar, head of the nuclear energy division at the French Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, told the European Nuclear Congress that France is looking to “intensify its efforts” to develop FNRs with a closed fuel cycle.

Posted by NucNet on 12 May 2014 in NucNet

Poland is planning to generate 12 percent of its electricity from nuclear by 2030 with its first reactor in commercial operation in 2024, a conference has heard. Beata Sparazynska, senior expert at the nuclear energy department of Poland’s Ministry of Economy, told the European Nuclear Congress in Marseille, ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 April 2014 in NucNet

The European Commission “unfairly discredits nuclear energy” and “fails to make an objective comparison” when it addresses the potential environmental impact of the UK’s proposed investment contract for the construction of two EPR reactors at the Hinkley Point C nuclear station in England, a European industry group has said.

Posted by NucNet on 20 March 2014 in NucNet

The deadline to develop a new design of nuclear reactor using thorium for fuel has been brought forward by 15 years as China’s central government tries to reduce the nation’s reliance on smog-producing coal-fired power stations, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today. The newspaper said ...

Posted by NucNet on 19 March 2014 in NucNet

EDF Energy made a “conservative decision” to take both reactors at the Dungeness B nuclear power station in southern England offline for two months in May 2013 to further improve flooding defences, the company said today. In a statement issued in response to a report in a national ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 March 2014 in NucNet

Returns for French utility EDF and other investors in the UK’s first new nuclear plant in two decades, supported by the government, could be much higher than for other projects, according to a report published today by a think-tank. Investors could earn returns of up to 21 percent ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 March 2014 in NucNet

EDF Energy has responded to a report by a UK think-tank by saying assumptions about financing and potential equity returns for investors in the Hinkley Point C nuclear project are “not correct” and were not provided or validated by EDF Energy. The Carbon Connect report, released earlier today, ...

Posted by NucNet on 12 March 2014 in NucNet

The Fukushima-Daiichi accident led to many nuclear regulatory bodies taking steps to strengthen nuclear safety and provide additional resources for regulators, a report has concluded. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reviewed 16 countries, 13 of which operate commercial nuclear power reactors and three of which are ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 March 2014 in NucNet

Residents of the town of Tamura who were evacuated following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident are to be allowed to move back into their homes, Japanese authorities have said. Three years after the 11 March 2011 disaster, the Japanese government has told residents that it will lift the evacuation ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 March 2014 in NucNet

Nuclear fuel enrichment company Urenco, jointly owned by the German, British and Dutch governments, has reported a four percent drop in full-year core earnings because customer demand has slowed. The UK-based company, which its owners are looking to partly sell, saw 2013 earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, fall.

Posted by NucNet on 7 March 2014 in NucNet

UK members of parliament on the Energy and Climate Change Committee have announced a new inquiry into “small nuclear power” and are calling for written submissions of evidence. The committee said small reactors – which it defined as below 300 megawatts – potentially have many useful applications, including ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 March 2014 in NucNet

The welding of pipes for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) has been completed and the pressuriser installed at Unit 3 of Russia’s Rostov nuclear power station, Rosenergoatom, the nuclear power station operations subsidiary of state nuclear company Rosatom, has said. After the completion of work on the ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 March 2014 in NucNet

Finnish utility Fennovoima has asked the government for a revised decision-in-principle for the construction of the new Hanhikivi nuclear power station at Pyhäjoki in northwest Finland, the company said in a statement. Fennovoima submitted a request on 4 March 2014 to the Ministry of Employment and Economy to ...

Posted by NucNet on 7 March 2014 in NucNet

Workers at Sellafield in the UK have removed 100 tonnes of contaminated, redundant equipment from the oldest fuel storage pond at the site. The 60-year-old pond, known as the pile fuel storage pond, is being emptied as part of a plan to clean up and decommission the oldest ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 March 2014 in NucNet

Russian nuclear fuel company TVEL has said it will honour all its nuclear fuel supply commitments to foreign nuclear power stations, despite a ban on transporting fuel cycle products across Ukraine by rail. State nuclear corporation Rosatom said in a statement today that the rail ban was imposed ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 March 2014 in NucNet

The radiation and nuclear safety authorities of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden have agreed a joint set of generic guidelines for protective measures in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency, the authorities have said in a statement. The new Nordic guidelines are based on existing ...

Posted by NucNet on 5 March 2014 in NucNet

Measures provided for the support of renewable energy sources should apply to nuclear energy in order to create “a level-playing field” for all low-carbon technologies, European nuclear energy industry association Foratom has said in a position paper. Brussels-based Foratom said it supports the European Commission (EC) proposed target ...

Posted by NucNet on 4 March 2014 in NucNet

Ministers in Japan have approved a portion of a draft basic energy plan that calls for nuclear energy to be a key baseload power source as long as its safety can be assured. The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said “adjustments” to the draft plan need to be ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 March 2014 in NucNet

The “relatively small” quantities of remaining overseas origin nuclear fuel in the UK should be managed by means of interim storage pending disposal, with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) “taking ownership” of the fuel where necessary, a government consultation document says. The document, ‘Consultation on the management of ...

Posted by NucNet on 28 February 2014 in NucNet

Authorisation to proceed with manufacturing of the world’s largest pulsed electromagnet is expected in May 2014 following development of “a firm basis” for the design, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) organisation has said. The solenoid-type electromagnet will be used to initiate and maintain the plasma current within ...

Posted by NucNet on 28 February 2014 in NucNet

US president Barack Obama has approved an agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation with Vietnam. The so-called ‘123 Agreement’ now passes to Congress for a 90-day review, a state department statement said. Under the agreement, US companies will be allowed to export nuclear-related fuel, expertise, reactors and equipment.

Posted by NucNet on 28 February 2014 in NucNet

Finland and Russia have signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership that lays down the legal basis for cooperation in nuclear energy, Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom has said. Rosatom said the agreement covers nuclear technology and is important in connection with Rosatom’s agreement with Finnish utility ...

Posted by NucNet on 28 February 2014 in NucNet

A conference to be held in Bulgaria will address the Kozloduy-7 and Belene new-build projects, lifetime extensions for Kozloduy-5 and -6, and “practical approaches” to the decommissioning of nuclear installations, organisers the Bulgarian Atomic Forum (Bulatom) said. The conference, ‘Bulgarian Nuclear Energy – National, Regional and World Energy ...

Posted by NucNet on 28 February 2014 in NucNet

Nuclear vendor Areva’s 2013 losses on the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear new-build project in Finland were 425 million euros (EUR) (586 million US dollars), up from EUR 400 million in 2012, according to the company’s annual report. In 2012 Areva also had to pay a EUR 300 million insurance indemnity ...

Posted by NucNet on 26 February 2014 in NucNet

Government and nuclear industry officials from African nations must develop independent, effective regulatory agencies as a prerequisite for the safe use of nuclear power, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Allison Macfarlane told a conference in Cape Town. Ms Macfarlane told the Nuclear Industry Congress Africa 2014 that a ...

Posted by NucNet on 24 February 2014 in NucNet

A decree adopted by Spain’s Council of Ministers, or cabinet, will allow nuclear power plants which have shut down for reasons not related to safety to restart and could pave the way for the the Santa Maria de Garoña nuclear plant to resume operation. The single-unit Santa Maria ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 February 2014 in NucNet

US researchers say they have achieved a world first by generating more energy from fusion reactions than they put into the nuclear fuel, representing a small but crucial step along the road to harnessing inertial-confinement fusion power. The ultimate goal – to produce more energy than the whole ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 February 2014 in NucNet

EDF Energy plans to extend the operating life of its two reactor units at the Dungeness B nuclear power station in Kent, England, by 10 years until 2028, the company has said. In its annual report for 2013, the company says the final decision depends on obtaining necessary ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 February 2014 in NucNet

A consortium of private sector companies brought in in 2008 to help Sellafield Ltd improve its performance on decommissioning and reprocessing had its contract extended in October 2013 despite “spiralling costs and poor performance”, a UK parliamentary report says. The report, published today by the House of Commons ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 February 2014 in NucNet

The UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has given its consent for a project to decommission the two-unit Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey in north Wales. The ONR said the decision follows “extensive consultation” and takes into account factors such as the information provided ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 February 2014 in NucNet

A panel from France’s Commission Nationale du Débat Public (National Commission for Public Debate; CNDP) has said it is not “in principle” against the Cigéo national deep geological repository project, the National Agency for the Management of Radioactive Waste (Andra) has said. The panel of 17 people, set ...

Posted by NucNet on 4 February 2014 in NucNet

Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (Tepco) says significant progress is being made on several fronts at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station, including the safe removal of nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pool at Unit 4. Of the 202 fresh fuel and 1,331 spent fuel assemblies in the fuel ...

Posted by NucNet on 4 February 2014 in NucNet

The barriers to nuclear power in Australia should be removed to enable it to be considered as an option for energy production, with small modular reactors (SMRs) particularly suitable for powering mines and towns in the country’s more remote areas, a think tank has said. In a submission ...

Posted by NucNet on 4 February 2014 in NucNet

Small modular reactors (SMRs) will not offer satisfactory solutions to the most pressing problems of nuclear energy such as high capital cost, safety, and weapons proliferation, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has said. Kennette Benedict, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin, said in an article in ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2014 in NucNet

The UK and France are planning to collaborate on constructing new nuclear power stations, to find opportunities for small and medium enterprises in nuclear supply chains, and to fund joint training and skills centres for the nuclear industry. In a joint communique today the two governments declared their ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2014 in NucNet

There is no potential environmental impact that would prevent the licencing of the proposed Dewey-Burdock uranium recovery project in South Dakota, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has concluded in its final supplementary environmental impact statement. The facility would use an in-situ recovery process to extract uranium from underground ore ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2014 in NucNet

The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria, northwest England, is asking only essential workers to report for work after “elevated levels of radioactivity” were detected. A perimeter alarm was triggered at the north of the site and each building is being checked, a spokesman told NucNet. No evidence ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2014 in NucNet

A scale model of the Myrrha research reactor being developed by the Belgian nuclear research centre SCK•CEN has been unveiled at the von Karman Institute for fluid dynamics in Belgium. The model, named MyrrhaBelle, is a one-to-five scale model of the Myrrha reactor and will use water to ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2014 in NucNet

The board of directors of the Swiss company Axpo Holding AG, owner of the two-unit Beznau nuclear plant, has decided to discontinue uranium deliveries for the production of fuel elements from the Russian production association Mayak, Axpo has said in a statement.

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2014 in NucNet

The potential success of a reinvigorated nuclear industry in the US hinges largely on the ability of the industry to build supply chain efficiency while managing costs and ensuring safe generation, a conference will hear. The IQPC Nuclear Supply Chain: Procurement and Vendor Management Summit, taking place on ...

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2014 in NucNet

Finland has one of the highest energy consumption rates per capita in Europe and teaming up with Russia to build a new reactor is the right choice if the country is to meet demand, Fennovoima project director Minna Forsström told NucNet.

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2014 in NucNet

Poland’s government has adopted a programme which will see the country’s first nuclear unit completed and producing electricity by the end of 2024. The government said that the Polish nuclear power programme defines a timetable for the development of nuclear energy, with a second reactor scheduled to begin ...

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2014 in NucNet

Continued US government and commercial engagement in other countries’ new and expanding nuclear power programmes are vital tools to advance global nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation, US Nuclear Energy Institute president and chief executive officer Marvin Fertel has said.

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2014 in NucNet

The US Congress has appropriated 110 million US dollars (USD) (80 million euros) for funding to support the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) in 2014, the House of Representatives has said in a statement. The US Department of Energy had requested an SMR research budget for 2014 ...

Posted by NucNet on 22 January 2014 in NucNet

Security & Safety The government of South Korea has taken several steps to improve public information and involvement in nuclear safety, and has applied lessons learned from a 2012 case that revealed that domestic suppliers to the nuclear industry had falsified quality assurance documents, the International Atomic Energy ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 January 2014 in NucNet

Toshiba Corporation has reached an agreement in principle with GDF Suez of France and Iberdrola of Spain to take a 60 percent stake in NuGeneration Limited (NuGen), the UK-based nuclear energy company which plans to build three Westinghouse nuclear reactors at the Moorside site in Cumbria, northwest England.

Posted by NucNet on 14 January 2014 in NucNet

In a case brought by German utility RWE the administrative court in Leipzig has decided that the shutdown of the two-unit Biblis nuclear plant was illegal. RWE was ordered to shut down the plant after the March 2011 accident at Fukushima-Daiichi in Japan. Unit A of the plant ...

Posted by NucNet on 13 January 2014 in NucNet

Nuclear scientists at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) are to create a “mini nuclear reactor meltdown” to try to better understand what causes them, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) has said. Jaif told NucNet that the team wants to use the controlled meltdown to learn how ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 January 2014 in NucNet

Nuclear power stations in the US operated at “nearly 100 percent” capacity during record cold temperatures experienced in the US this week, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has said. NEI senior vice-president of communications Scott Peterson said all of the country’s 100 commercially operational nuclear power units were ...

Posted by NucNet on 9 January 2014 in NucNet

Public attitudes towards nuclear power in the UK have not followed a trajectory that could have been expected following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima-Daiichi in Japan, a report says. The report, published by the UK Energy Research Centre, describes the findings of a survey conducted in March ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 January 2014 in NucNet

The University of Leeds in England is to lead a consortium of 10 universities in a national research programme looking at ways of dealing with the country’s nuclear waste. The eight million pound (13 million US dollars, 9.6 million euros) project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 January 2014 in NucNet

The UK’s joint nuclear regulators have announced that they are progressing to the next phase of their assessment of a new nuclear reactor design that could be built at two sites in the UK. The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency said in a statement they ...

Posted by NucNet on 6 January 2014 in NucNet

An initiative to bring together all the scientific research on exposure to low and very low doses of ionising radiation will improve the global radiological protection system and could have major implications for dealing with the rehabilitation of areas affected by the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident, the ...

Posted by NucNet on 2 January 2014 in NucNet

The problems that led to core meltdown and fuel damage at Unit 1 of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant began as a direct result of the impact of the tsunami and not a loss of coolant from pipe failure caused by the earthquake, a report by plant operator Tokyo ...

Posted by NucNet on 31 January 2013 in NucNet

Graphene oxide, a two-dimensional material that contains pure carbon, has “a remarkable ability” to quickly remove radioactive material from contaminated water and could be used in cleaning up contaminated sites such as the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, researchers at Rice University in Texas and Lomonosov Moscow State University have ...

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2013 in NucNet

The UK government says it will embark on “a renewed drive” to find a community to host a deep geological repository for radioactive waste after a local authority in northwest England voted against hosting the planned facility. Cumbria County Council voted today to withdraw from the process to ...

Posted by NucNet on 30 January 2013 in NucNet

The final results of a referendum in Bulgaria mean the issue of new nuclear build will now be debated in the country’s parliament. Bulgaria’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) yesterday confirmed the results of the nationwide referendum on Sunday on the development of nuclear energy through the construction of ...

Posted by NucNet on 22 January 2013 in NucNet

Japan’s nuclear regulator has presented a draft outline of new safety standards for nuclear power plants in the wake of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster, including countermeasures against severe accidents and criteria for evacuating areas around nuclear power plants during an emergency. The proposed measures include a requirement to ...

Posted by NucNet on 21 January 2013 in NucNet

The European Commission has called for a ministerial meeting to allow all parties to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) to reconfirm their political commitment to the project, EU commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger has said. In a speech on 17 January 2013 at the inauguration of ITER’s ...

Posted by NucNet on 18 January 2013 in NucNet

The Swiss Federal Chancellery said yesterday that 107,533 of the 108,227 signatures on a popular initiative submitted by the Green Party for a partial revision of the federal constitution on the phase-out of nuclear energy are valid, meaning the measure will be put to a nationwide vote. The ...

Posted by NucNet on 17 January 2013 in NucNet

Without a sustainable energy mix that includes nuclear energy, Europe’s economy will be less competitive, industry will move abroad and jobs will “inevitably be lost”, Poland’s deputy economy minister and commissioner for nuclear energy has said. In an article written for the policy journal ‘Europe’s World,’ Hanna Trojanowska ...

Posted by NucNet on 15 January 2013 in NucNet

EDF Energy’s 15 nuclear reactor units in the UK produced their highest output for seven years in 2012, enough to power half of the country’s homes, the company has said. According to EDF, the 60 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity produced by the units, at eight nuclear stations, ...

Posted by NucNet on 14 January 2013 in NucNet

The US would begin operating a deep geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel by 2048 under a new strategy announced by the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE has released a report outlining its strategy for addressing proposals of the Blue Ribbon Commission on ...

Posted by NucNet on 11 January 2013 in NucNet

Advanced propulsion researchers at NASA say they are a step closer to solving the challenge of safely sending human explorers to Mars and other solar system destinations using nuclear thermal rockets capable of propelling missions to the Red Planet and beyond. NASA researchers are using an innovative ...

Posted by NucNet on 10 January 2013 in NucNet

The nuclear energy industry is at “a new crossroads” that could mark the start of a new renaissance or a slow decline as existing nuclear reactors are gradually retired, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has said. In the second edition of a publication called ‘Nuclear Energy Today’ the ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 January 2013 in NucNet

Rolls-Royce Holdings is expanding its nuclear energy operations with the purchase for an undisclosed sum of US engineering company PKMJ Technical Services. The acquisition aims to accelerate growth in nuclear services, London-based Rolls-Royce said in a statement today. Rolls-Royce already has nuclear services facilities in Williamson, New York ...

Posted by NucNet on 8 January 2013 in NucNet

More than half of the communities in Japan that host nuclear power plants are in support of reactors being restarted as long as their safety is assured by the government, a newspaper survey says. The ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ survey, published yesterday, shows that 54 percent of the 135 communities ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 January 2013 in NucNet

The operator of Spain’s Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant says its board of directors has ratified its decision to shut down the facility in northern Spain. Nuclenor, a joint venture between Iberdrola and Endesa, said last month that it would close the single-unit plant ahead of ...

Posted by NucNet on 3 January 2013 in NucNet

Japan’s new Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) prime minister Shinzo Abe has said for the first time that his government will endorse the construction of new nuclear power plants. Mr Abe said in a statement that he would take “a level-headed look” at what caused the March 2011 nuclear ...