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Issued by the World Nuclear Association
Electricity generation from nuclear power plants is the dispatchable low-carbon technology with the lowest expected costs, according to the Projected Costs of Electricity Generation 2020 report, published today by the International Energy Agency and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency.
World Nuclear Association congratulates all involved with the design, construction and commissioning of the Fuqing 5 Hualong One nuclear power reactor. The unit was connected to the grid at 00:41 local time on 27 November and has started to deliver electricity.
Belarus today joined the growing number of countries using nuclear energy to produce clean, reliable and cost-effective electricity. Unit 1 of the Ostrovets nuclear power plant supplied its first electricity to the Belarusian grid today at 12.03 pm local time.
We welcome the IEA’s recognition of the potential for nuclear energy to play an important role in the transition to a clean energy system and we strongly endorse the IEA’s call for more investment in clean energy, including nuclear energy.
The publication today of The World Nuclear Supply Chain Outlook 2040 provides a market-oriented review of the opportunities and challenges for nuclear power plants and their supply chain, including scenarios for the evolution of nuclear energy over the next two decades.
Background information on topical issues
Agneta Rising's speech at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power, in Vienna on October 2019, highlighted the need for governments to take action to create the conditions needed to allow nuclear energy to deliver its potential.
Agneta Rising's speech looking back on progress made by the nuclear industry, and looking ahead to future opportunities. The speech was to mark the NEA's 60th anniversary.
Full text of speech made by Agneta Rising to the Energy Commission Members of the Bulgarian Parliament on 25 January 2018.
Germany is projected to miss its 2020 emissions reduction target because it has prioritised closing nuclear plants ahead of closing coal plants.
Although peak generation from solar briefly exceeded generation from nuclear energy on 26 May 2017 in the UK, over the whole day nuclear generated considerably more low carbon electricity. Expanding nuclear offers greater potential for emissions savings.
World Nuclear Association
Published: Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:25:59 GMT
The Bulgarian Council of Ministers, at a meeting on 20 January, approved plans presented by the Minister of Energy to construct a seventh unit at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant using Russian-supplied equipment purchased for the Belene project. The minister noted discussions have been held with Westinghouse of the USA to construct the unit.
Published: Fri, 22 Jan 2021 15:34:18 GMT
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review a topical report on Westinghouse Advanced Doped Pellet Technology Fuel, which the company has said is a major achievement for the advanced fuel portfolio it is developing as part of its EnCore fuel programme.
Published: Thu, 21 Jan 2021 12:40:32 GMT
Following his inauguration yesterday, US President Joseph Biden has formally signed an executive order to re-enter the Paris Climate Change Agreement and directed US departments and federal agencies to "immediately commence work to confront the climate crisis". The USA's re-entry will come into force in 30 days.
Published: Thu, 21 Jan 2021 13:21:24 GMT
The UK government must continue to support nuclear power generation if the country is to meet an expected doubling of electricity demand by 2050 while meeting its Net Zero ambitions, according to a new report from the Centre for Policy Studies. The think tank recommends the government explore innovative financing methods for the construction of new nuclear power plants.
Published: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 14:30:27 GMT
Darlington unit 3 is ready to begin the next stage of its refurbishment - disassembly - after successful separation of the reactor and its systems from the three remaining operating units at the station. Installation of the final 5-tonne section of steel bulkhead needed for the isolation was completed 10 days ahead of schedule.
Published: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:32:49 GMT
Armenia plans to extend the service life of its nuclear power unit in Metsamor beyond 2026 and has not abandoned plans to build a new unit, ARKA news agency reported on 14 January, following Cabinet approval of the government's new energy strategy to 2040.
Published: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 12:26:39 GMT
The UK and Japan have signed a research and technology deployment collaboration agreement to help automate nuclear decommissioning and aspects of fusion energy production. The collaboration is expected to lead to new robotics and automation techniques used in Japan and the UK.
Published: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:05:01 GMT
A proposed restructuring of GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC has received the final key approval from the US government. The restructure will see Australian research and development company Silex Systems and Canadian company Cameco Corporation increase their holdings in the company to 51% and 49%, respectively.
Published: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 12:37:29 GMT
Iran has no credible civilian use for uranium metal and must reverse its latest move towards increased enrichment, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK - the E3 countries - said on 16 January. In response, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said it wanted the International Atomic Energy Agency to "avoid mentioning unnecessary details".
Published: Mon, 18 Jan 2021 15:11:19 GMT
Unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in western Russia passed 1 terawatt hours of electricity production on 15 January, a milestone in its four months of pilot operation that started in November last year.
Published: Mon, 18 Jan 2021 14:43:08 GMT
Two disused radioactive sources, previously used in cancer treatment, have been transported to safe and secure storage locations in the Republic of the Congo. The relocation of the sources - which are expected to be exported outside the country next year - was supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Published: Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:57:01 GMT
India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has developed a process to harvest medical-grade ruthenium-160, allowing the indigenous production of plaques of the material for use in eye cancer therapy. Ruthenium is a fission by-product of the nuclear reprocessing cycle.
Published: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 15:27:11 GMT
Unit 1 of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus reached 100% of its capacity on 12 January, Russia's Rosatom said yesterday. The reactor, near Ostrovets in the Grodno region of Belarus, is of the AES-2006 design, which is the latest version of the VVER-1200 and the first of its kind built outside Russia.
Published: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 14:59:46 GMT
The US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has released a "scorecard" reflecting its accomplishment of the "vast majority" of its 2020 priorities amid the federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. EM said it is now positioned for a decade of "transformational progress" in its mission to clean up the environmental legacy from decades of US nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.
Published: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 12:39:38 GMT
Romanian national nuclear company Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica has been awarded a non-refundable grant of USD1.28 million by the US Trade and Development Agency for use in the identification of potential sites in Romania to host small modular reactors. The USTDA is an independent federal government agency focused on connecting US companies with export opportunities in emerging markets.
Published: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 12:30:34 GMT
Construction has been completed at the first of two sites in South Bruce, Ontario, ahead of the start of borehole drilling, Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organisation has announced. The boreholes are part of the organisation's investigations into the suitability of the site for a geologic repository for used nuclear fuel.
Published: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:45:12 GMT
Access to affordable, technology-neutral financing is essential if energy-poor countries are to enjoy the benefits of nuclear power in the way the Western world already does, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum today. The following is her statement to the panel titled Delivering energy access in the developing world.
Published: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:12:12 GMT
The challenges the nuclear industry faces are largely external and must be overcome if it is to help tackle the existential threat of climate change, panellists in the Nuclear Energy and its Future session of the Reuters Next conference on 11 January said. These challenges include: the notion nuclear is an out-dated technology; the cost of finance; market design; political changes; perceived competition with renewable energy; and the public's misconceptions about radioactive waste.
Published: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 15:07:16 GMT
The US Administration has issued an Executive Order on Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration, which it says will further revitalise the US nuclear energy sector and reinvigorate its space exploration programme. This includes directives to demonstrate the use of microreactors on military bases and also to ensure a viable US-origin supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium.
Published: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 14:58:40 GMT
GE Steam Power has delivered the first Arabelle steam turbine module for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Turkey. Manufactured at its factory in Belfort, France, the turbine module is the first equipment delivered by GE for the project and was delivered four months ahead of schedule.
Published: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:02:01 GMT
Upgrades to safety measures to comply with new regulatory requirements were completed yesterday at unit 7 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture, Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced. Although the utility has already received regulatory approval to restart the reactor, it must still obtain local consent.
Published: Tue, 12 Jan 2021 15:48:10 GMT
Agreements announced yesterday between NuScale Power and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems to facilitate the development of a project to deploy small modular reactors at the Idaho National Laboratory could lead to the placement of a first order for NuScale Power Modules in 2022.
Published: Tue, 12 Jan 2021 14:41:54 GMT
The International Energy Agency will later this year publish the world's first comprehensive roadmap for the energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It is among a number of projects for 2021 announced by the IEA yesterday to support efforts to reach global energy and climate goals.
Published: Tue, 12 Jan 2021 14:28:03 GMT
The Office of Nuclear Energy, part of the US Department of Energy, has outlined its plan to support the existing US nuclear generation fleet, demonstrate the latest innovations in nuclear energy technologies and explore new market opportunities. The Strategic Vision is a blueprint for NE to achieve its mission of advancing nuclear energy science and technology to meet US energy, environmental and economic needs.
Published: Tue, 12 Jan 2021 12:29:39 GMT
The ITER Organisation has selected the contractors to carry out assembly and installation activities inside the Tokamak Complex at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter), under construction in Cadarache, France. These contracts are the last major assembly and installation contracts planned for first-phase Iter assembly.
Published: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 16:48:08 GMT
The International Atomic Energy Agency cannot judge whether Iran will choose to become only the second country, after North Korea, ever to deny its inspectors access to nuclear sites, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. Grossi was speaking in an interview with Francois Murphy, chief correspondent of Reuters in Austria, where the IAEA is headquartered. The interview was held on the first day of the Reuters Next virtual summit that is taking place until 14 January.
Published: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 14:32:33 GMT
Unit 3 of the Kakrapar nuclear power plant in India's Gujarat state has been connected to the electricity grid. The reactor - the country's first indigenously-designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor - achieved criticality in July last year.
Published: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 13:20:28 GMT
The UK's Environment Agency has published its assessment so far of the UK Hualong One pressurised water reactor (UK HPR1000) as it invites public comment on this proposed new reactor design. The UK HPR1000 is the Hualong One design that General Nuclear Services - a subsidiary of EDF and China General Nuclear - proposes to use at a prospective new nuclear power plant in Bradwell, England.
Published: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 12:12:38 GMT
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Alok Sharma as full-time president of the UN COP26 climate conference, with Kwasi Kwarteng replacing Sharma as secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The COP26 president will be based in the Cabinet Office, continuing as a full member of Cabinet, and will chair the Climate Action Implementation Committee to coordinate government action towards net zero by 2050 in the run up to COP26, which will be held in Glasgow this November.
Published: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 12:02:10 GMT
Cold functional testing has been completed at unit 6 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province, the second of two demonstration Hualong One reactors at the site. The tests mark the first time the reactor systems are operated together with the auxiliary systems.
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