South Africa kickstarts nuclear plans

The Department of Minerals and Energy has published the Request for Information, which resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said would start preparatory work to develop plans for the programme. “Given the long lead-time of building additional new nuclear capacity, upfront planning is necessary for security of energy supply to society,” Mantashe tweeted. Power security …

Power sector problems see greenhouse gas target missed

Problems in the power sector have seen Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions rise and the 2018 target being missed. Scottish government figures show source emissions increased by 1.5% largely because of the long-term shutdown at Hunterston nuclear power station. It led to more electricity being generated at the gas-fired Peterhead power station, where emissions doubled. A Scottish …

IEA says nuclear is not on track to meet sustainability goals

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest Clean Energy Progress Track report published on 11 June, assesses the full range of energy technologies and sectors. Only six out of 46 technologies and sectors were “on track” with the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), which maps out pathway to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement on …

Trump administration seeks to use global aid for nuclear projects

The Trump administration is taking the first steps toward allowing international development funds to be spent on nuclear projects, working to lift a longtime prohibition on how the anti-poverty funds can be spent. The Wednesday proposal from the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) would make it perhaps the only government development agency in the world to use its …

Framatome completes modernization project at Doel nuclear power plant

Framatome’s digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems at the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium passed the final site acceptance test (SAT). This important milestone marks the completion of the project to modernize the control and emergency systems at units 1 and 2. As part of the project, Framatome designed, manufactured, tested and installed its …

Tonko sees role for nuclear in net-zero emissions push

The New York congressman conceded the Covid-19 pandemic has “disrupted” Democrats’ plans to consider climate change legislation this year. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), who is fine-tuning legislation in the House that aims to push the U.S. toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, said on Tuesday he did not favor banning nuclear power. “Clean energy …