May, 2012

Areva's EPR reactor is unlikely to receive design certification by the US nuclear regulator before the end of 2014, the agency has told the reactor vendor. Design certification for the EPR had earlier been targeted for June 2013. ...read more

Fossil fuels now provide some 90% of Japan's electricity as nuclear plants remain shut down. Consumption of crude and heavy oil for electricity is at a four-year high. ...read more

Germany has announced plans to upgrade and expand its electricity grid over the next decade in order to help renewable energy sources fill the gap left by its phase-out of nuclear power. An investment of some €20 billion ($25 billion) will be needed. ...read more

The University of Manchester is to provide expert input to GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy in its promotion of the use of Prism fast reactors to dispose of the UK's plutonium stocks. ...read more

The used fuel pool at the damaged reactor building of unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi is not tilting and would be able to withstand a large earthquake, according to measurements taken by operator Tepco. ...read more

A group of students from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has completed the first stage of training to become qualified operators for the country's new fleet of nuclear power reactors. ...read more

Britain's Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre was officially opened yesterday by the Duke of York in his fifth supportive visit to the supply chain initiative. ...read more

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has agreed to extend the operating licence of the single-unit Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts for a further 20 years. Meanwhile, the expected completion of the NRC's review of Progress Energy's combined construction and operating licence...

The top representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran's Supreme National Security Council have decided to agree on a structured approach to clarifying possible military dimensions related to Iran's nuclear program, which should lead to inspections of the Parchin site. .....

Environmental science and policy professor Allison Macfarlane has been formally nominated to replace Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Gregory Jaczko by the President of the USA. ...read more

The operating licence for Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station in Washington state has been extended for a further 20 years by the US nuclear regulator. ...read more

The latest analysis has upped the figures for the amount of radioactivity released during the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, although the estimate for the main contaminant, caesium-137, was actually reduced. ...read more

Tokyo is on a shortlist of three candidate cities to host the 2020 Olympic Games, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that Japan's decision on whether to restart its idled nuclear power reactors could have a significant impact on its chances of hosting the event. ...read more

A preliminary report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated the radiation doses that residents of Japan have received in the year following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi. Dose rates in most Fukushima homes were comparable to reference levels for radon. ...read more

Over half the respondents in a public opinion poll in the UK county of Cumbria supported councils in the county participating in the search for a suitable site for the country's high-level waste repository. ...read more

Holtec International has promised to pay back public money if it fails to secure a licence for its SMR-160 reactor. The pledge forms part of its formal proposal seeking a share of US Department of Energy funding. ...read more

Germany has a new minister for energy, environment and nuclear safety in Peter Altmaier, a CDU/CSU heavyweight that has been charged with making the country's 'energy transition' a reality. ...read more

Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems has formally opened an engineering centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the same time the town has played host to the Nuclear Energy Insitute's annual Nuclear Energy Assembly. ...read more

Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation has agreed to form a strategic alliance with Australia's Alliance Resources. The transaction could, pending the results on ongoing litigation, fund the construction of a stand-alone in-situ leach operation at the Four Mile uranium deposit in South Australia...

Russia will become the 31st member of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) following its formal accession to the agency today. ...read more

Three developers of small modular reactor (SMR) technology - Babcock & Wilcox, NuScale Nuclear and Westinghouse - have submitted applications to the US Department of Energy (DoE) for funding to support first-of-a-kind engineering, design certification and licensing. ...read more

Draft legislation to reform the UK's electricity market to ensure secure, clean and affordable energy endeavours to secure the necessary investment for a low-carbon energy mix including new nuclear. ...read more

Gregory Jaczko has resigned his chairmanship of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), saying the time was right to work on public safety in other ways. ...read more

The long-awaited return to service of the refurbished unit 2 of the Bruce A nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada, has been delayed due to damage in an electrical generator on the non-nuclear side of the plant. ...read more

Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended that the state's first uranium mine, Toro Energy's Wiluna, be allowed to go ahead. ...read more