World’s second EPR starts operations

Unit 2 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in China’s Guangdong province has entered commercial operation, becoming the second EPR reactor to do so. The milestone was achieved on 7 September, following statutory functional testing of continuous operation at full power for 168 hours, which started on 30 August, EDF said. This step marks the …

Belene project attracts five expressions of interest

Five companies have expressed interest in Bulgaria’s invitation for strategic investment in the construction of Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube River near the Romanian border. According to national newspaper 24 Chasa, China National Nuclear Corporation, Framatome, General Electric, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and Rosatom have all applied for the selection process. The …

Rosatom postpones fast reactor project, report says

Rosenergoatom is expected to receive about RUB280 billion (USD4 billion) less in state funding for the construction of new nuclear reactors in Russia owing to the postponement of its fast neutron reactor programme, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported last week, citing anonymous sources. Rosenergoatom is the nuclear power plant operator subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation …

Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear plant in danger due to lack of oversight

Work on Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in the southern coastal area of Akkuyu is being carried out without proper inspections and could lead to disastrous consequences, local geological engineering association head Erkan Demir told pro-Kurdish daily Yeni Yaşam. Reports on the Akkuyu plant’s construction have raised serious fears since it began in 2018, with …