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Published: Thu, 13 May 2021 15:13:07 GMT
Ontario Power Generation's Centre for Canadian Nuclear Sustainability, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and SNC-Lavalin have signed an agreement to work together on the decommissioning of Candu reactors around the world.
Published: Thu, 13 May 2021 13:39:14 GMT
Unit 1 of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania is empty of all fuel, following the transportation on 11 May of the final container with damaged used nuclear fuel to a temporary storage facility.
Published: Thu, 13 May 2021 13:36:27 GMT
EnergySolutions has announced it is to acquire the Kewaunee nuclear power plant from current owner Dominion Energy, and will complete the decommissioning of the single-unit plant, which shut down in 2013.
Published: Thu, 13 May 2021 13:14:27 GMT
First Light Fusion has completed construction of a 22-metre-long two-stage gas gun as part of its experimental efforts to develop "a simpler, faster, and cheaper route" to commercial fusion energy. The UK company says it has successfully fired first test shots, with fusion experimental shots on the new device starting next month.
Published: Thu, 13 May 2021 12:42:43 GMT
Poland's Ministry of Education and Science and the National Centre for Nuclear Research have signed an agreement for the next round of high temperature gas-cooled reactor design work. The agreement was signed yesterday in Otwock-Spruce, at a ceremony attended by Minister of Climate and Environment Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Education and Science Przemysław Czarnek and Director of the National Centre for Nuclear Research Krzysztof Kurek.
Published: Wed, 12 May 2021 13:59:31 GMT
Kansai Electric Power Co has announced plans to restart Mihama unit 3 in June. The unit will return to full operations in July, but Takahama units 1 and 2 will not be able restart until further facilities are completed at those units.
Published: Wed, 12 May 2021 14:45:17 GMT
Lightbridge Corporation has demonstrated the manufacturing process for surrogate fuel rods for commercial-scale small modular reactors, using an internally developed and patented high-temperature coextrusion process.
Published: Wed, 12 May 2021 12:23:05 GMT
Unit 6 at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province was connected to the grid for the first time yesterday, according to the China Nuclear Energy Association. The milestone - at 8.27pm local time - marked the unit's entry into the grid-connected commissioning phase.
Published: Wed, 12 May 2021 11:47:29 GMT
The UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy yesterday opened the Generic Design Assessment to advanced nuclear technologies. BEIS has also published a policy paper stating that the advanced nuclear sector has the potential to play an important part in the UK's Industrial Strategy.
Published: Tue, 11 May 2021 14:41:05 GMT
Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom and the country's transmission system operator Ukrenergo completed tests last week at unit 1 of the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant for the provision of ancillary frequency maintenance reserve services at +/-20 MW. The tests should confirm the compliance of the unit with the requirements of the Transmission System Code in order to obtain a certificate entitling Energoatom to introduce the power unit to the ancillary services market.
Published: Mon, 10 May 2021 13:48:06 GMT
Production at the Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, resumed near the end of April following the second COVID-19 related shutdown, Cameco said on 7 May whilst announcing its results for the first quarter of 2021. The company said its deliveries to customers in 2020 were not impacted by the pandemic and it does not expect there to be a material impact on its 2021 deliveries. However, it now expects to purchase more uranium in order to meet its supply contracts.
Published: Fri, 07 May 2021 13:46:35 GMT
Excavation of the first final disposal tunnel has started at the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository near Olkiluoto, Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy announced today. The repository - the first in the world for used fuel - is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s.
Published: Fri, 07 May 2021 13:10:09 GMT
US President Dwight Eisenhower's 'Atoms for Peace' speech to the UN General Assembly in 1953 is still relevant as the world of today confronts the existential threat of climate change, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told delegates at a preparatory event for the Tenth NPT Review Conference that is expected to take place in August. Speaking at the event - titled Industry and Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Technology - Bilbao y León called upon all signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 1970, to support the expansion of civil nuclear power.
Published: Fri, 07 May 2021 08:38:37 GMT
Exelon is not giving up on its Illinois plants, but will go ahead with the closure of Byron and Dresden later this year if the state does not - before the end of its current session - pass policy reforms to support their continued operation, CEO Chris Crane said this week.
Published: Thu, 06 May 2021 15:08:34 GMT
The Tennessee Valley Authority is to provide engineering, operations and licensing support to help Kairos Power deploy its Hermes low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee under a newly announced collaboration agreement between the two companies.
Published: Thu, 06 May 2021 14:33:15 GMT
Many challenges have to be faced in maintaining safety over the long term in a damaged nuclear power plant following a severe accident, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency notes in a new status report. The report reviews knowledge and experience gained through long-term management of the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi accidents, by identifying and ranking main issues and knowledge gaps. It also reviews the existing regulations and guidance, practices, technical bases and issues regarding long-term management of a severely damaged nuclear site.
Published: Thu, 06 May 2021 12:46:55 GMT
Ringhals AB and Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB each issued an Urgent Market Message to the Nord Pool power exchange yesterday morning about the potential risk of Ringhals units 3 and 4 and Forsmark units 1, 2 and 3 being unable to restart following scheduled outages - in 2024 (F2), 2025 (R3-4, F3), and 2028 (F1) - because of a lack of storage space for used nuclear fuel.
Published: Wed, 05 May 2021 15:13:03 GMT
A mismatch between the world's climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals could mean a slower and more expensive energy transition, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based organisation describes its special report, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, as the most comprehensive global study to date on the importance of minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements in a secure and rapid transformation of the global energy sector.
Published: Wed, 05 May 2021 13:58:08 GMT
The first multi-purpose canister containing fuel has been loaded into a HI-STORM FW module and placed into the new on-site used fuel dry storage facility at Brazil's Angra nuclear power plant, Holtec International has announced. This marks the official start of the storage facility's planned 50 years of operation as well as the first use of Holtec's HI-TRAN 300 single-failure proof vertical heavy load hauler.
Published: Wed, 05 May 2021 13:33:50 GMT
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an application by Dominion Energy's Virginia subsidiary for a 20-year extension to the operating licences of the twin-unit Surry nuclear power plant. This will enable the two pressurised water reactors to operate until 2052 and 2053, respectively.
Published: Wed, 05 May 2021 12:51:06 GMT
Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom has called on lawmakers to repeal a resolution recently passed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and restore the previous Public Service Obligation mechanism in the country's electricity market until the end of June. Parliamentarians should "analyse in detail", the state-run company said, "who, how and in whose favour" Resolution 439 had been prepared, since it "harms" state-owned energy-generating companies.
Published: Wed, 05 May 2021 11:52:22 GMT
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has produced a report on how the Department of Energy can develop a robust, safe and effective nuclear waste management programme for the USA, including laying the groundwork for a successfully implemented geological repository. It says the lack of progress on developing and operating a geologic repository impedes the associated potential benefits of having nuclear energy as part of a zero-carbon future for mitigation of climate change, as well as the advancement of US nuclear technology and commerce.
Published: Tue, 04 May 2021 15:24:33 GMT
The goals of the Generation IV International Forum - and the six reactor types that are its focus - remain as important today as they have always been, speakers at an international panel discussion held to mark the organisation's 20th anniversary agreed. Looking to the future, demonstration should become a focus to drive forwards to deployment of the technology.
Published: Tue, 04 May 2021 14:40:11 GMT
Nuclear provides a perfect solution for the generation of large quantities of low-carbon and affordable hydrogen, the European nuclear trade body Foratom said today in a position paper. This, it said, will be key as Europe aims to transform all parts of its economy, including transport and industry. The position paper makes a number of policy recommendations aimed at recognising the contribution nuclear energy can make in decarbonising such areas.
Published: Tue, 04 May 2021 14:12:00 GMT
From a childhood fascination with "what small means" to simulating the power of the sun to bring affordable energy to all of mankind. This is the journey described by Sergio Orlandi, head of the Central Engineering and Plant Directorate at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
Published: Fri, 30 Apr 2021 15:27:15 GMT
Nuclear energy is "a key pillar" of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said today during the launch of Rosatom's Atoms for Humanity initiative. However, she said the benefits to society of nuclear science and technology beyond that of electricity generation need to be more widely appreciated.
Published: Fri, 30 Apr 2021 14:21:33 GMT
Caring about the environment has traditionally focused on the scarcity of natural resources, but with nuclear power a healthier world can also mean abundance for all, environmentalist Ben Heard said today at the Atoms for Humanity discussion on Why Humanity Needs Nuclear produced by Russia's Rosatom. Heard is an advocate for nuclear power in his native Australia, through his directorship of environmental NGO Bright New World.
Published: Thu, 06 May 2021 10:56:28 GMT
The recent assessment by the EU's scientific body, the Joint Research Centre, that nuclear energy does no more harm to human health or the environment than any other power-producing technology considered to be sustainable may be a sign of the green stamp of approval needed for the inclusion of nuclear in the EU Taxonomy on sustainable finance, write Elina Teplinsky, Vincent Zabielski and Victoria Judd, partner, special counsel and counsel, at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Published: Fri, 30 Apr 2021 13:29:53 GMT
Most of the nuclear plants in the PJM Interconnection wholesale electricity market - covering 13 US states and the District of Columbia - will not produce enough revenue to remain economically viable in the coming years, an independent economic evaluation has concluded.
Published: Fri, 30 Apr 2021 11:43:59 GMT
Herman Halushchenko, vice president of development at Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom, has been appointed the country's new energy minister, following approval yesterday by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Halushchenko received support from 305 lawmakers in the 450-seat chamber. The ministry had been under a caretaker minister since the collapse of the previous government in March 2020.
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