4 - 10 February 2009
| NEW NUCLEAR: |
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| 10 February 2009 |
| GSE Systems of the USA has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to upgrade the existing simulator at unit 3 of the Leningrad nuclear power plant. |
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| 9 February 2009 |
| South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries has manufactured and shipped a reactor pressure vessel to the Qinshan nuclear power plant in China, marking the company's first export sale of the key component. |
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| 5 February 2009 |
| Finnish utility Fortum has submitted an application to the government for a decision-in-principle concerning the construction of a third reactor at its Loviisa site in south-eastern Finland. All three firms interested in new build are now at the same point. |
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| 4 February 2009 |
| The Indian site of Jaitapur could host up to six of Areva's EPR nuclear power units, after a memorandum of understanding signed today in New Delhi with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). |
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| 4 February 2009 |
| US regulators have received the first part of an application to build a laser-based uranium enrichment plant in North Carolina. |
| NUCLEAR POLICIES: |
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| 10 February 2009 |
| A war of words has erupted in the UK as national politicians speak out against the anti-nuclear policies of the devolved administration in Scotland. |
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| 9 February 2009 |
| France's President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Flamanville in northern France to see the construction site of the country's first European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). The visit shortly followed his decision to construct a second EPR in the country. |
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| 5 February 2009 |
| New nuclear power plants will play a part in Sweden's long-term energy future, after the coalition government scrapped old anti-nuclear policies. |
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| 5 February 2009 |
| China is poised to up its nuclear energy capacity targets to 70 GWe by 2020, according to reports in Chinese state media. The revision is awaiting approval, but achieving it would make China the world's second biggest nuclear generator. |
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| 5 February 2009 |
| The European Parliament (EP) has set out wide-ranging recommendations for the European Union's future energy policy. These include a road map for investments in nuclear energy and new emissions targets for 2050. |
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| 4 February 2009 |
| The Netherlands' stance on nuclear energy needs to be clarified, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Delaying a decision on nuclear until 2011 leaves too much uncertainty. |
| REGULATION & SAFETY: |
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| 9 February 2009 |
| With repairs complete and some approvals already given, the restart is approaching of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa reactors, shut down since July 2007. |
| CORPORATE: |
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| 10 February 2009 |
| Three Japanese companies are to take a holding of nearly 20% of Canada-based uranium producer Uranium One. The trio has also agreed a uranium offtake deal entitling them to up to 20% of Uranium One's production. |
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| 9 February 2009 |
| Westinghouse Electric Co has formed a joint venture with Korea Nuclear Fuel Company (KNF) to manufacture control element assemblies (CEAs) for Combustion Engineering-designed nuclear power plants in the USA and South Korea. |
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| 4 February 2009 |
| Vladimir Putin has invited Siemens to enter into discussions with Rosatom, the umbrella agency for the Russian nuclear power industry. A tie-in now looks likely. Siemens announced it would end it's partnership with Areva just last week. |
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| 4 February 2009 |
| Spain's Iberdrola and France's GdF Suez have entered into a partnership to jointly participate in the construction of new nuclear power plants in the UK. They will work with Britain's Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to in the forthcoming site auction. |
| EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL: |
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| 10 February 2009 |
| Ukraine is soon to join the international uranium enrichment project set up by Russia and Kazakhstan. Diplomatic notes forming a deal are to be exchanged. |
| INDUSTRY TALK: |
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| 6 February 2009 |
| According to the US industry body, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), "nuclear energy is one of the few bright spots in the US economy - expanding rather than contracting." The nuclear industry has invested over $4 billion in recent years. |
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| 6 February 2009 |
| [Courier Journal, 5 February] The Natural Resources and Energy Committee of the Kentucky Senate has passed a bill that could lead to the lifting of a 25-year-old moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants within the US state. |