March, 2012

An 8% drop in carbon dioxide emissions in the UK in 2011 was helped by an 11% increase in electricity output from the country's nuclear power plants, provisional figures from the government indicate. ...read more

South Carolina Electric & Gas has signed a preliminary agreement with Westinghouse and the Shaw Group to settle a dispute over early cost overruns for the construction of two AP1000 units at its VC Summer plant. A delay in receiving a licence for the units has led to a rescheduling of their completion...

Work is set to commence on the construction of the boxcut and decline for an exploration project that could eventually see Energy Resources of Australia's (ERA) Ranger uranium mine become an underground operation. ...read more

The contractual framework for the construction of Europe's first advanced boiling water reactor has been laid down in an agreement signed by the Lithuanian government and strategic investor Hitachi. ...read more

Bulgaria will not go ahead with the completion of a new nuclear power plant at Belene and instead wants the Russian-supplied reactor that was to have been installed there to become the seventh unit at the existing Kozloduy site. ...read more

Following separate strategic reviews, German utilities RWE and EOn have decided not to continue with the development of new nuclear power plants in the UK through their Horizon Nuclear Power joint venture. The partners, citing the cost of Germany's nuclear phase-out as one of the reasons for their...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published its final report on its review of Japan's revised nuclear safety assessment process. It found that the new Japanese measures are "generally consistent" with the IAEA's safety standards. ...read more

Westinghouse has announced that it will split its nuclear power plant product line into two distinct organizations - one to focus on the delivery of new plant projects to existing customers and the other to develop new plant opportunities globally. ...read more

Unit 1 of China's Sanmen nuclear power plant has been connected to a nearby substation to provide offsite power for testing electrical systems. The reactor is set to begin operating next year. ...read more

The synergies between nuclear safety and security were one of the issues highlighted by world leaders at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, where world leaders concluded that the right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes must not be hampered by measures to strengthen nuclear...

Japan has moved a step closer to restarting the first of its nuclear reactors to be kept off line for tests following the Fukushima accident. Meanwhile, details on the country's revamped nuclear regulatory regime are starting to emerge. ...read more

While the bidding process for construction of a fourth reactor at Finland's Olkiluoto site has been launched, the country needs to invest in the future workforce for nuclear industry and regulation. ...read more

Apart from programs to develop large sodium-cooled fast reactors, Russia is also pushing ahead with a small modular fast reactor cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic, the SVBR-100. ...read more

NB Power has received permission from the Canadian nuclear regulator to load fuel into the refurbished single-unit Point Lepreau plant in New Brunswick. The Candu reactor is expected to restart later this year, having been offline for over four years. ...read more

Among the people chosen to carry the Olympic Flame across Britain to London 2012 is Mike Park, a land surveyor at Sellafield who has been recognised for 28 years of service in a mountain rescue team. ...read more

The manager of the Kori 1 nuclear power reactor in South Korea has been sacked for covering up a safety-related incident at the plant last month. The plant owner now faces prosecution by safety regulators. ...read more

The Fukushima accident in Japan has led to more Americans now believing that the risks of using nuclear energy outweigh the benefits, according to a new public opinion poll. The poll also found high support for natural gas, despite recent negative publicity about its extraction using hydraulic fracturing...

A $200 million contract awarded to a partnership led by EnergySolutions will see the removal of all above-ground transuranic wastes from the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico by June 2014. ...read more

Milestones have been reached in the preparatory work for the international next generation fusion reactor, Iter, as Chinese and Italian suppliers complete the construction of key manufacturing facilities and trial versions of parts for the superconducting magnets. ...read more

As the deadline for bids to construct two more units at the Czech Republic's Temelin nuclear power plant approaches, local engineering and construction companies continue to sign cooperation agreements with the three shortlisted reactor vendors. ...read more

Capitalising on a more positive political outlook, Spain's nuclear industry group has made the case for longer operating lives for the country's reactors based on commercial and safety imperatives. ...read more

While the deadline for the signing of the project agreement for Bulgaria's planned Belene nuclear power plant approaches, the government continues to seek partners to help finance the project. Meanwhile, with fabrication of the reactor vessel for the first unit at the plant nearing completion, Russia's...

Life in a small English town was brought to a standstill as two massive boilers from the decommissioned Berkeley nuclear power plant started their journey to Sweden where they will be recycled. ...read more

The first batch of steel has arrived at Chernobyl for the giant arch that will protect the ruined power plant and enable its dismantling. Assembly of the arch is set to begin next month. ...read more

India is looking towards the commissioning of two Russian-designed reactors at Kudankulam after the cabinet of Tamil Nadu gave its go-ahead. ...read more