NuScale makes first Canadian SMR review submission  

NuScale Power has made its first submittals to Canada’s nuclear regulator for a pre-licensing vendor design review (VDR) for its small modular reactor (SMR) design. The reactor is also undergoing a design certification review in the USA where the company plans to bring a plant into production and operation by 2026. The NuScale SMR design features a …

Russia launches a technical documentation shop for nuclear power plant customers

After successfully running a beta version, Russian nuclear utility Rosenergoatom (part of state nuclear corporation Rosatom) has launched a unique digital sales support service. The so-called “technical documentation e-shop” provides access to all necessary regulatory and technical documentation to operate Russian-designed nuclear power plants. Organisations, from a computer or a phone, can quickly and conveniently …

IAEA Network for Emergency Assistance Grows to 35 Countries as India Joins

India has become the 35th country to join the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Response and Assistance Network (RANET), a group of states which offer assistance to mitigate the consequences of nuclear or radiological emergencies. Through RANET, states can register their emergency preparedness and response capabilities, including support for radiation measurements, medical advice or treatment, …

Britain’s electricity since 2010: wind surges to second place, coal collapses and fossil fuel use nearly halves

In 2010, Great Britain generated 75% of its electricity from coal and natural gas. But by the end of the decade*, these fossil fuels accounted for just 40%, with coal generation collapsing from the decade’s peak of 41% in 2012 to under 2% in 2019. The near disappearance of coal power – the second most …

Korea, Saudi Arabia to set up Korea’s SMART reactor construction JV

South Korea and Saudi Arabia will establish a joint venture that will spearhead the construction of Korea’s small modular reactor (SMR) unit in the Middle Eastern country. The Ministry of Science and ICT signed a revised pre-project engineering contract to jointly set up an entity that will lead the commercialization and construction of a Korea-designed …

Iran Rolls Back Nuke Deal Commitments, Vows to Enrich Uranium Based On Its Tech Needs

This comes amid an ongoing escalation of tensions between Iran and the US following the death of Iran’s top military commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. Iran announced on Sunday in a statement that it was discontinuing its remaining obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal. “By taking the fifth step in reducing its …

Praise for Trump’s uranium plan – It doesn’t deserve three cheers but it merits two

In the weeks ahead, President Trump will make a final decision on how to revive the all-but-dormant American uranium industry. The expected plan would create a reserve of about 10 million pounds per year of domestically mined uranium and stored in a “Federal Uranium Security Stockpile.” One option on the table is for the Department …

Turkey is going nuclear by 2023: Will it succeed?

Fingers crossed, the decades-long ambition to have Turkey’s first nuclear energy capability (at least one of the planned four nuclear reactors) is finally to become a reality by 2023 thanks to the Mersin Akkuyu project, developed jointly with Russia’s Rosatom.Turkey has a long-standing dream of going nuclear since the 1960s, having ventured five different attempts, …