UK and Euratom sign Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

The UK and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) have signed a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA). This is separate from the wider UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement that was also announced on 24 December and which has since been approved by ambassadors from the 27 EU Member States, paving the way for it to take …

China starts building second CFR-600 fast reactor

Construction work has started on the second CFR-600 sodium-cooled pool-type fast-neutron nuclear reactor in Xiapu County, in China’s Fujian province. Also known as the Xiapu fast reactor demonstration project, the CFR-600 is part of China’s plan to achieve a closed nuclear fuel cycle. Construction of unit 1 started in late 2017. The fuel will be …

Adequate uranium to meet demand, latest Red Book concludes

Sufficient uranium resources exist to support the long-term, sustainable use of nuclear energy, according to the latest edition of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) joint report on uranium resources, production and demand. However, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and recent reductions in uranium …

Congress approves nuclear energy funding for FY2021

The US Congress voted to approve appropriations for fiscal year 2021 that includes USD1.5 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. The appropriations also include USD150 million to initiate the uranium reserve programme to address challenges to the production of domestic uranium. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, approved by Congress on 21 …

Pilot operation stage started at the first power unit of Belarus NPP

On December 22, 2020 the pilot operation stage started at Belarus NPP power unit 1 of III+Gen with VVER-1200 reactor (ROSATOM’s Engineering Division is the General Designer and the General Contractor), as specialists started a gradual reactor power increase up to the rated power. A permit to proceed to this stage was issued by the …

New stimulus bill includes $35.2 billion for new energy initiatives

The new economic stimulus proposal that has been approved by Congress includes roughly $35.2 billion for energy initiatives, according to summary documents seen by TechCrunch. “This is probably the biggest energy bill we’ve seen in a decade,” said policy analyst Dr. Leah Stokes, an Assistant Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management …

Canada sets out actions needed to commercialise SMRs

The Canadian government has released a national Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Action Plan, which responds to the 53 recommendations identified in the country’s SMR Roadmap that was launched in November 2018. The plan lays out the next steps for the development, demonstration and deployment of SMRs for multiple applications at home and abroad. According to …

Climate could pay the price as Europe’s nuclear plants age

Nuclear power capacity able to supply roughly 60 million homes is scheduled to close this decade as utilities struggle to replace northwest Europe’s ageing reactors, raising the risk of higher carbon emissions as fossil fuels plug the gap. Nuclear power provides around a quarter of the European Union’s electricity generation, with 15 of the 27 …