French Orano opens uranium conversion plant despite glut

French nuclear group Orano on Monday inaugurated a 1.15 billion euro (1.02 billion pounds) uranium conversion plant despite huge global overcapacity for nuclear reactor fuel. State-owned Orano’s new plant in Tricastin, southern France, will account for a quarter of the world’s 60,000-tonne annual uranium hexafluoride (UF6) production capacity when it fully ramps up in 2021 …

KHNP Accelerates Bid to Export Nuclear Power Abroad On Its Own

Under stewardship of President Chung Jae-hoon, who took office in April, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is accelerating efforts to export nuclear power plants abroad on its own. KHNP, the nation’s sole nuclear power operator, met with President Cosmin Ghita of the state-owned energy producer Nuclearelectrica of Romania in Gyeongju in early July to …

Delayed reactor returns slash French nuclear availability nearly 9 GW

HIGHLIGHTS Operator halts Civaux-1 reactor Monday for planned outage Environmental issues plague St Alban-2, runs at reduced capacity Nuclear outages boost European day-ahead power prices London — Available nuclear power generating capacity in France fell sharply by almost 9 GW after EDF delayed the return of multiple nuclear plants, while high temperatures continued to restrict …

Steady growth in nuclear generation continues

Global nuclear power generation in 2017 increased for the fifth consecutive year, reaching 2506 TWh, according to a new World Nuclear Association report. The Association says the industry is on target to meet the near-term goals of its Harmony programme. In the World Nuclear Performance Report 2018, the Association details power generation and construction achievements for the …

Chinese AP1000 reaches full power operation

Unit 1 of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China’s Zhejiang province has reached full power operation for the first time. The unit became the world’s first AP1000 to achieve grid connection and power generation. Sanmen 1 reached 100% power for the first time at 2.10pm today, China National Nuclear Corporation and State Nuclear Technology …