Cigar Lake suspended due to COVID-19

Canadian uranium miner Cameco has opted to temporarily suspend operations are its Cigar Lake operation in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, due to increasing risks posed by COVID-19. The company said that the entire province has been experiencing a “significant negative trend in the pandemic” that has left Cameco uncertain for the mine’s continuous operation as the pool of …

Nuclear electricity costs set to decrease, study finds

The levelised costs of electricity generation of low-carbon generation technologies are falling and are increasingly below the costs of conventional fossil fuel generation, according to a report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). The cost of electricity from new nuclear power plants remains stable, yet electricity from the …

SA takes another step towards new nuclear power

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has invited comment on government’s plans to add 2,500MW in nuclear power to SA’s electricity mix. Currently, Koeberg is only supplying 1,940MW. A number of parties are interesting in building the nuclear station. On Monday, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) invited comment on government’s plans to add …

Japan’s Energy Supply and Demand in Fiscal 2019 Shows CO2 Emissions Down for Sixth Year in a Row

On November 18, the Agency for Natural Resources & Energy (ANRE), under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), announced results for Japan’s energy supply and demand in fiscal 2019 (preliminary report), which ended on March 31, 2020. Final energy consumption was 12,959 petajoules (PJ), down 2.0 percent from the previous year. The total …

Boris Johnson set to reveal plan for reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce fresh backing for electric vehicles, hydrogen, and nuclear power as part of a 10-point plan to put the country on course for net zero emissions by 2050. Mr Johnson is expected to unveil his strategy in the coming week, as he sets out his vision for transforming the UK into a low-carbon leader with thriving green …

Senate proposes spending increase at environmental agencies

The Republican-led Senate is proposing modest spending increases for environmental agencies compared to last year’s budget, diverging from proposed cuts that the Trump White House put forward earlier this year. In its $38 billion Interior-environment spending bill for fiscal 2021, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed giving about $13.6 billion to the Interior Department and about $9.09 billion to the Environmental …

Horizon eyes transfer of nuclear sites

Horizon Nuclear Power is in discussions about transferring its Wylfa Newydd and Oldbury nuclear-build sites to another developer. Horizon confirmed in September that it was scrapping its work at the sites after parent company Hitachi failed to agree a funding deal with the UK Government. It later asked Whitehall to delay a decision on a …

Brussels ‘won’t stand in the way’ of new nuclear plants, says EU climate chief

The European Commission “will not stand in the way” of countries that choose to build new nuclear power stations, said EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who warned however about the life-cycle costs of the technology, “which means that you will be stuck with it for a long, long, long time”. The European Commission keeps a …