February, 2011

Nuclear energy may play a role in meeting Spain's aim of putting one million electric cars on its roads by 2014, said Miguel Sebastian, minister of industry tourism and commerce, as he publicly backed nuclear power. ...read more

China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has announced the signature of an engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPC) for Tianwan units 5 and 6 with China Nuclear Power Engineering Co (CNPE) and Jiangsu Nuclear Power Co. CNPE will be the project contractor. Two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors...

The wife of an Areva employee kidnapped in Niger in September 2010 is one of three hostages freed late on 24 February. Francoise Larribe was released along with Jean-Claude Rakotorilalao and Alex Awando, both employees of construction group Vinci's Satom subsidiary. All three are reported to be in...

Iran will have to remove nuclear fuel from its forthcoming Bushehr power plant, which was scheduled to generate power within weeks. ...read more

Engineering and survey work at the site of the planned Akkuyu nuclear power plant on Turkey's Mediterranean coast will begin next month, the Russian general designer of the plant has said. ...read more

The operating licence of Dominion's single-unit Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Wisconsin has been extended for an additional 20 years by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The renewed licence for the 574 MWe pressurised water reactor will now expire on 21 December 2033. Dominion applied...

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally accepted GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's (GEH's) application to renew the design certification for its Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), meaning the review procedure can now formally begin. The NRC approved the ABWR design in 1997, and...

Small rovers that hop from place to place are being developed for future Mars missions. Powered by nuclear energy, they could map the entire planet in a few years. ...read more

Iran is to receive steady supplies of medical isotopes from Russia after a test batch was shown to meet requirements. Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko received the test results during a recent visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, led by the country's Vice President Fereydoon Abbasi. A forthcoming...

Public support for nuclear energy in the USA remains high, with 71% of people saying they favour the use of nuclear energy, according to the results of a new survey. ...read more

Canadian uranium producer Denison Mines has agreed to buy Australian uranium exploration and development company White Canyon, gaining White Canyon's Utah operations in the process. ...read more

A new piece of kit, the sludge retrieval hood, will allow staff at the Sellafield nuclear site to begin full-scale decommissioning of the historic pile fuel storage pond and thus achieve an important UK legacy waste objective. ...read more

The Atmea1 reactor design has been put to Canadian regulators as a first step towards deployment in the country. The design is also at an early stage with French regulators and under discussion in Jordan. ...read more

Tim Gitzel is to take over as president and CEO of uranium producer Cameco after Jerry Grandey's retirement from the firm at the end of June. Grandey has been with Cameco since 1993, serving as head of the company since 2003. He has "provided excellent leadership that included building a solid...

Areva will be required to spin off its uranium mining activities under the French government's plans for a strategic partnership between the company and EDF. The forthcoming Atmea-1 reactor design and small reactors up to 300 MWe will also be targets for future development. ...read more

A collaboration agreement for the development of excellence in skills for the global nuclear energy industry has been signed between the USA's Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) and the UK's National Skills Academy for Nuclear. ...read more

Wisconsin Electric Power Company has agreed a $45.5 million settlement with the US Department of Justice over the US government's failure to take over management of used nuclear fuel from the Point Beach nuclear power plant from 1998. ...read more

Southern California Edison (SCE) announced that the reconnection to the grid of unit 3 of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) "signals the safe, successful completion of a massive ten-year construction project - replacing the plant's largest components, its steam generators."...

Extract Resources announced that it is in discussions with Rio Tinto over the potential joint development of the Husab uranium project with the neighbouring Rössing uranium mine in Namibia. ...read more

While construction continues on a mixed oxide nuclear fuel plant at Savannah River, negotiations on where the fuel will be used remain in the early stages. ...read more

Westinghouse has officially "introduced" its 200 MWe Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and says it is preparing for a role in the US Department of Energy's demonstration program. ...read more

GE Energy fuel fabricating arm Global Nuclear Fuel America (GNF-A) has joined an initiative working on improving the thermal performance of nuclear fuel using beryllium oxide (BeO) under a memorandum of understanding it has signed with rare metals company IBC Advanced Alloys. Vancouver-based IBC is the...

Dutch lawmakers have outlined the requirements for any new nuclear plants in the hope of approving one before 2015. ...read more

USEC Inc and the US Department of Energy have agreed to modify milestones for the deployment of centrifuge enrichment technology at the American Centrifuge Plant. ...read more

Lockheed Martin has partnered with GE-Hitachi (GEH) to design and supply digital control systems for GEH's Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). ...read more