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Issued by the World Nuclear Association
Agneta Rising said, "Today's annoucement is good news for nuclear energy in the UK and Europe. The Hinkley Point C project demonstrates the value of international cooperation in new nuclear build"
EDF have announced the go-ahead for Hinkley Point C, a nuclear power plant that will generate 7% of the UK’s electricity, avoid 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year and create over 25,000 new employment opportunities.
World Nuclear Association launches its report providing key metrics on nuclear power plant performance and reviewing recent developments in the global nuclear industry.
Sweden has announced it will phase out its nuclear capacity tax. Agneta Rising, Director General, World Nuclear Association said, “It is excellent news that this tax will be removed, but it should never have been implemented in such a way as to distort the market and put at risk the operation of Sweden’s nuclear power plants, which provide affordable and reliable electricity and form a vital part of its low carbon generation mix.”
Well-performing generation plant provide valuable jobs, secure electricity supplies and help meet our clean air environmental objectives. It is vital that energy policy reforms are enacted to prevent further closures.
Background information on topical issues
Preparations are underway for the restart of the Sendai 1 reactor in Japan. Sendai 1 is a pressurized water reactor (PWR) sited on the southwest coast of Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan. It is owned and operated by the Kyushu Electric Power Company.
The World Nuclear Association has published reports on nuclear fuel supply and demand at roughly two yearly intervals. The report published today is the 17th in the series and extends the forecasting period to 2035. It includes scenarios covering a range of possibilities for nuclear power.
The World Nuclear Association has made two submissions to the South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, one on the subject of nuclear power generation and the other on nuclear wastes.
The action taken today by the Austrian government is supposedly to challenge the decision by the European Commission to approve the Contract for Difference mechanism proposed for Hinkley Point C. However, the true motivation of the action was revealed by Austrian Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann, who last week issued a statement saying: "This is a further important step in our anti-nuclear policy, whose long-term objective is a nuclear-free Europe."
The Global Apollo Programme Report has the objective of making carbon-free baseload electricity less costly than coal within ten years. Nuclear generation working with renewables has already allowed countries such as France and Sweden to achieve the goals of this report.
World Nuclear Association
Published: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 15:13:02 GMT
The US Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday awarded Mid-America Conversion Services, a joint venture of Atkins, Fluor and Westinghouse, a $318 million five-year contract to operate facilities to convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) at its plants at Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio.
Published: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:49:01 GMT
Hungary's plan to build two additional reactors at Paks has reached an important milestone with the receipt of an environmental licence for the project, Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for Paks II, told World Nuclear News yesterday. It confirms the project meets the environmental requirements of both Hungary and those of the European Union.
Published: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:54:35 GMT
Bannerman Resources has approved an extension of its Etango heap leach demonstration plant program after receiving "excellent" results from the fifth phase of the project in Namibia.
Published: Thu, 29 Sep 2016 16:43:31 GMT
The final agreements enabling construction of two EPR units at Hinkley Point C to proceed were signed today in London by the UK government, EDF and China General Nuclear.
Published: Thu, 29 Sep 2016 15:34:47 GMT
Nuclear energy is relevant to "almost all" of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted last year by the United Nations General Assembly, World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising said today. Rising spoke during the Scientific Forum of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference being held this week in Vienna.
Published: Thu, 29 Sep 2016 14:30:43 GMT
Small modular reactors could be operating in the UK by 2030 if action is taken to create investor confidence through development of a suitable policy framework, according to a new report by the Energy Technologies Institute.
Published: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 15:47:57 GMT
The International Atomic Energy Agency projects continued growth in nuclear electricity generating capacity to 2030, although at a slower pace than previously anticipated. The Agency highlights nuclear energy's role in meeting global climate and sustainable development goals.
Published: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 14:49:04 GMT
The full-scope operator training simulator at unit 2 of the Fermi nuclear power plant in Michigan is to be upgraded by Canada-based L-3 MAPPS under contracts signed with operator DTE Energy.
Published: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:52:33 GMT
Sergey Kirienko, director general of Russia's Rosatom, has signed agreements with Cuba, Finland, Jordan and Tunisia this week, covering the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, training and the early notification of nuclear accidents. The agreements were signed on the side of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference in Vienna.
Published: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:11:14 GMT
Russia's readiness to replace the reactor pressure vessel its workers dropped during installation work in August at unit 1 of Belarus' first nuclear power plant, reflects the fact this is a public acceptance matter rather than a technological concern, Rosatom director general Sergey Kirienko said yesterday. Kirienko spoke to reporters during the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference being held this week in Vienna.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 15:34:52 GMT
Areva NP has unveiled a new technique and manipulator to offer off-axis inspection for cracks in boiling water reactor (BWR) core shroud welds.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 20:45:08 GMT
The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has the expertise and resources it needs should it receive a request from government to assess China's Hualong One reactor design, its chief nuclear inspector, Richard Savage, said today. ONR's chief executive, Adriènne Kelbie, added that she sees no need for wholesale change at the organisation and that recruitment of inspectors and other staff is on target. They spoke to World Nuclear News during the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference being held this week in Vienna.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 20:53:46 GMT
The impartiality of the International Atomic Energy Agency was "indispensable" to the high-level political agreement reached last year on Iran's nuclear-related activities, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told delegates at the Agency's 60th General Conference in Vienna yesterday.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 13:44:35 GMT
In the five-and-a-half years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, "steady progress" is being made in the decommissioning process and contaminated water management at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Hirotaka Ishihara, state minister of the cabinet office of Japan, told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference yesterday. Decontamination and environmental remediation are "moving forward" and the evacuation zones are "growing smaller", Ishihara said.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:53:09 GMT
Unit 4 of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province has successfully completed pre-operational testing, China General Nuclear announced yesterday.
Published: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:16:41 GMT
Licensing small modular reactors "presents a new opportunity for standardisation" in the nuclear power industry, Vanessa Jakovich, counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, told delegates at the World Nuclear Association’s 41st Annual Symposium in London on 16 September.
Published: Mon, 26 Sep 2016 15:06:14 GMT
Extensive geotechnical and geophysical site characterization at the Moorside site in West Cumbria, UK, will be mostly complete by the end of the year, according to geotechnical survey specialists Fugro. The campaign has included onshore and offshore geological investigations.
Published: Mon, 26 Sep 2016 15:13:54 GMT
Steam generators at Fessenheim and Bugey are the only current areas of action for the French Nuclear Safety Authority, which has published a list of all the uncovered irregularities in manufacturing paperwork.
Published: Mon, 26 Sep 2016 15:14:25 GMT
A consultative body of the European Union has called for the European Commission to adopt a "more comprehensive" nuclear strategy. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says the commission should highlight nuclear energy's positive attributes.
Published: Fri, 23 Sep 2016 16:08:01 GMT
Holtec International has successfully completed a series of free drop-tests on its HI-STAR ATB-1T waste cask. The cask has a rectangular footprint, unlike cylindrical fuel-bearing transport casks.
Published: Fri, 23 Sep 2016 15:43:13 GMT
An agreement in principle to form a new joint venture to develop, market and construct the Advanced Fuel Candu Reactor has been signed by Canada's SNC-Lavalin, China National Nuclear Corporation and Shanghai Electric. The reactor reuses used fuel from light water reactors.
Published: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:36:31 GMT
A ceremony was held yesterday to inaugurate the new full-scope operator training simulator at unit 1 of the Tihange nuclear power plant in Belgium. The simulator was supplied by Canada-based L-3 MAPPS.
Published: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 15:22:07 GMT
The importance of standardisation in the evaluation of reactor designs is key to making nuclear power plant projects more efficient and cost-effective, Jerry Head, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy told delegates at the World Nuclear Association's 41st Annual Symposium in London last week. Head outlined seven areas where such an approach can bring harmony to the process of managing projects from the design licensing stage through to decommissioning.
Published: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:34:03 GMT
The Paris Climate Change Agreement crossed the first of two thresholds required for it to enter into force after 31 governments yesterday formally submitted their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
Published: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:59:45 GMT
The restart of Japan's nuclear power reactors is "critical" to the success of the country's energy policy, according to the International Energy Agency. However, it says nuclear power can only be restored provided that the highest safety standards can be met and public trust regained.
Published: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:51:00 GMT
The economics and financing of nuclear power projects and the markets in which they operate was discussed last week by a high level panel at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium. While some countries are investing in new nuclear capacity, some market conditions are forcing the closure of existing reactors, participants said.
Published: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 16:00:12 GMT
An operating licence was issued yesterday for the new interim used fuel storage at the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (Vatesi) announced today. The licence permits commissioning of the facility, known as the ISFSF B1 Project, and the start of hot trials with ten new design casks. ISFSF B1 Project is located in Visaginas municipality.
Published: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 15:54:07 GMT
Askar Zhumagaliyev, chairman of KazAtomProm, and Igor Nasalik, Ukraine's energy and coal industry minister, have held their second meeting on future cooperation in the nuclear energy sector. The world's biggest uranium producer said in a statement yesterday the meeting focused on production of fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power reactors.
Published: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 09:36:39 GMT
The European Commission is expected to issue a decision "within weeks" on Hungary's plan to build two additional reactors at Paks, Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for Paks II, said last week. The submission of the site licence application for the new Russian-built VVER-1200 units to Hungary's regulator is scheduled for the end of October, Aszódi told delegates at the World Nuclear Association's 41st Annual Symposium in London on 16 September.
Published: Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:21:20 GMT
The estimated cost of decommissioning Soviet-designed, first-generation nuclear power reactors in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia will be at least €5.7 billion ($6.4 billion), according to the European Court of Auditors. However, it warns this could double if the cost of disposing of high-level radioactive waste is included.
Published: Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:19:17 GMT
Magnox Ltd has announced the successful decontamination of ponds used to store used nuclear fuel at the former Bradwell nuclear power plant in Essex, England.
Published: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 16:18:06 GMT
Unit 4 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province has started commercial operation, China General Nuclear announced on 19 September.
Published: Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:05:56 GMT
The UK government's approval of EDF Energy's Hinkley Point C project has "blazed the trail" for other nuclear new build developers at home and abroad, delegates at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium heard last week.
Published: Tue, 20 Sep 2016 13:14:54 GMT
Two Westinghouse AP1000s are likely to start up within a year, with hot functional tests at the first-of-a-kind reactor at Sanmen in China on course to finish next month, interim president and CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez told delegates at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium held in London last week. Fuel loading at Sanmen is expected to take place before the end of the year.
Published: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:37:38 GMT
Representatives of both long-established and more recent mining operations yesterday debated issues related to the current market situation. They looked at patterns from past market cycles and the measures that producers are taking to position themselves now and in the future.
Published: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:09:42 GMT
Iran is ready to share its nuclear experience with other nations in the Persian Gulf through a regional nuclear scientific contact group, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran president Ali Akbar Salehi told the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium today.
Published: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 13:26:12 GMT
The nuclear industry can achieve the momentum required to create an additional 1000 GWe of new capacity by 2050, Agneta Rising, director general of the World Nuclear Association, said yesterday. This target is essential, she said, if the world is to ensure the International Energy Agency's 2 Degree Scenario on climate change.
Published: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 11:38:32 GMT
Unit 2 of the UK's Heysham II nuclear power plant was taken offline today for a scheduled maintenance and inspection outage, setting a new world record for the uninterrupted operation of a commercial power reactor. The achievement was announced by Vincent de Rivaz, CEO of EDF Energy, at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium in London.
Published: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 10:22:34 GMT
The UK government today announced its approval for the construction of two EPR reactors at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset after reaching a new agreement in principle with EDF. However, it has imposed certain conditions for foreign investment in future British nuclear power plant projects.
Published: Wed, 14 Sep 2016 13:12:42 GMT
The production of a replica part of the reactor pressure vessel used in unit 1 of Switzerland's Beznau nuclear power plant has shown that aluminium oxide inclusions in the vessel formed during its manufacture, utility Axpo said. The unit has been offline for more than a year whilst the safety of its vessel is investigated.
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