China looks to nuclear option to ease winter heating woes

China tests “Yanlong” dedicated nuclear reactor Each 400-MW unit can heat 200,000 homes Hurdles remain: money, approvals, public safety anxiety Potential to help north shift away from polluting coal With its smog-prone north desperate to slash coal consumption, Chinais looking to deploy nuclear power to provide reliable winter heating, raising public safety concerns — though developers …

UAE’s first nuclear power plant marks ‘significant milestone’ in construction

The UAE’s first nuclear power plant has announced that the final two of its four reactors are now connected to the country’s electricity grid. The development is described as a “significant milestone” by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ahead of the nuclear plant’s activation expected later this year. The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant will have four …

CGN Power’s latest project delay deals another blow to China’s nuclear energy ambition 

The latest commissioning delay at CGN Power’s nuclear project in Taishan, in Guangdong province – the third in two years – will lead to a further deferral of 5 billion yuan (US$770 million) in annual revenues and potentially more cost overruns, according to ratings agency Moody’s. The delay is another setback for China’s ambitious development …

Nuclear reactor to shut down amid Germany′s atomic phase-out 

One of the reactors at the Grundremmingen plant has been switched off as part of Germany’s plan to scale back nuclear power. The power station was the site of Germany’s first fatal nuclear power plant accident. A southern German nuclear reactor was taken offline on Sunday afternoon after 33 years in operation, the plant confirmed. German …

Russia, Uzbekistan Sign Nuclear-Cooperation Agreement

Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and Uzbekistan have signed a nuclear-cooperation agreement that Rosatom says will pave the way for bilateral cooperation “in many aspects of civil nuclear energy.” Rosatom said the agreement was signed on December 29 by its Director-General Aleksei Likhachyov and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Nodir Otajonov. “The collaboration could include …

IAEA Highlights and Achievements in 2017 – A Year in Review

Two ministerial conferences, over 50 review missions and several new partnerships to advance the use of nuclear techniques for sustainable development were among the highlights of 2017 at the IAEA. This article summarizes some of the key achievements of the year. IAEA 60th anniversary year The new donor wall, unveiled at the IAEA’s 61st General Conference, …

Russian factory launches new centrifuges for uranium enrichment

YEKATERINBURG, December 28. /TASS/. New-generation gas centrifuge for uranium enrichment came on stream at the Urals Electrochemical Factory [Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk region] on Thursday, the press service of the factory told TASS. “The enterprise successfully launched five sections of a technological unit equipped with ninth-generation gas centrifuges,” the report said. According to Mikhail Denisov, the chief of …