China’s plan to become a nuclear energy powerhouse

If China achieves the targets outlined in its Energy Development Strategy Action Plan, it will become the world’s nuclear energy leader and fundamentally change the global trajectory of the nuclear power industry. The big picture: It’s not a foregone conclusion that China will follow through on its plans, especially with the public resistance stemming from 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 …

Rosatom seeks to boost cooperation in Eurasia

Rusatom International Network – a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom – has signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The memorandum provides for establishing common principles of bilateral cooperation with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries. The agreement was signed on 10 August by Alexander …

Russia on an international offensive to sell its nuclear plants

Russia is stepping up its overseas sales of nuclear power plants, with state-run nuclear energy company Rosatom agreeing in July to cooperate in building a plant in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan and reaching an accord with China to build a plant in that country. Russia accounts for 67% of the world’s nuclear plant deals currently in development. By 2030, Rosatom aims …

IAEA Unveils Unique World Uranium Map

The IAEA has launched a comprehensive, online interactive and integrated digital map of the world’s uranium distribution and deposits. This second edition of World Distribution of Uranium Deposits was developed with contributions from the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of South Australia and the United States Geological Survey. This edition classifies information by types …

New nuclear reactor being built in western Japan applies for safety checks

Chugoku Electric Power Co. on Friday applied to the government for safety screening of a nuclear reactor it is constructing, opening up the possibility of it becoming Japan’s first newly built reactor to go into operation since the 2011 Fukushima crisis. Work on the No. 3 unit at the Shimane plant in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, …

Investment fund Yellow Cake snaps up more uranium after float success

An investment vehicle designed to profit from the rising price of uranium is to snap up another £8m-worth of the radioactive mineral. Yellow Cake, which raised $200m (£156m) in a successful float on the London Stock Exchange earlier this summer, said it would buy another 350,000 lb of uranium from Kazakh supplier Kazatomprom and store it …

China promoting own technical standards to aid nuclear push overseas

China’s State Council said it would promote the use of China’s nuclear industry’s independent technological standards worldwide, aiming to play “a leading role” in the global standardization process by 2027. Its two major nuclear project developers, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the China General Nuclear Project Corporation (CGN), are jointly promoting an advanced third-generation …

Deputy Secretary Brouillette Hosts Fifth Meeting of the U.S.-Japan Bilateral Commission on Civil Nuclear Cooperation

The fifth meeting of the U.S.-Japan Bilateral Commission on Civil Nuclear Cooperation (the Bilateral Commission) was held in Tokyo on August 8, 2018. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori led the discussions as co-chairs. The delegations included participants representing a wide range of governmental agencies. Participants from …