7 - 13 January 2009
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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: |
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8 January 2009 |
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National electricity plans to help mitigate climate change announced by the South Korean government include ambitions for nuclear to contribute nearly half the country's electricity generation by 2022. |
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NEW NUCLEAR: |
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12 January 2009 |
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Three projects to build GE-Hitachi ESBWR nuclear units are in question after utilities Entergy and Dominion decided to explore alternative nuclear power options. |
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9 January 2009 |
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Bruce Power has withdrawn its application to prepare a site for nuclear build, opting to begin a selection process between that site and another nearby. There had been local concerns that the first site was too near an aquifer. |
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8 January 2009 |
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A new large reactor could be built on Japan's southern island of Kyushu after plans announced today. A 1590 MWe Advanced PWR could operate there from 2019. |
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NUCLEAR POLICIES: |
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12 January 2009 |
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Slovakia is preparing the Bohunice V1 unit 2 reactor for recommissioning less than two weeks after it was closed. The plant could be restarted within days unless gas flows from Russia resume, Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico has said. |
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9 January 2009 |
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The continuing squeeze on gas supplies in Europe has led a utility president to declare "The only long run solution for Italy is nuclear energy." A minister said that the "shortsightedness of the past" has put Italy at risk. |
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9 January 2009 |
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The USA has completed ratification procedures, allowing the Additional Protocol (AP) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to enter into force. |
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7 January 2009 |
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A week after Russia's Gazprom cut back gas supply into Ukraine, a growing shortage in Europe has resulted in calls to re-open shut-down nuclear power plants. |
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REGULATION & SAFETY: |
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13 January 2009 |
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The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has decided to refuse or suspend the accreditation of laboratories run by Electricite de France (EdF) for monitoring radioactivity in the environment around its plants. It said that the methodologies used by the labs do not conform to ASN requirements. |
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7 January 2009 |
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The US nuclear regulator has proposed fining Exelon Nuclear after security guards were caught napping whilst on duty at its Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. A security worker at Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Sequoyah site, meanwhile, has been found to have falsified inventory data at the plant. |
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CORPORATE: |
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13 January 2009 |
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Electricite de France (EdF) has begun the process of the integration of British Energy (BE) following its takeover of the company. The first steps have been to decide on the new structure of EdF's UK operations and to make some key appointments. |
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13 January 2009 |
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RWE's offer for Dutch utility Essent will see the formation of the fourth largest energy supplier in Europe and will also include Essent's half-ownership of the Netherlands' only operating nuclear power plant, Borssele. |
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8 January 2009 |
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Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and France's Comex Nucleaire, a subsidiary of ONET Technologies, have been awarded a contract by Electricite de France (EdF) to supply six replacement steam generators. |
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8 January 2009 |
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Next Era Energy Resources (NEER) is the new name for FPL Energy, the subsidiary of Florida Power and Light Group. The name has been changed to reflect what the firm calls its "clean energy mission." |
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7 January 2009 |
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The UK-based nuclear engineering company Gravatom Engineering Systems has been acquired by corporate services provider ONET Group to become part of its decommissioning division. |
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EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL: |
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7 January 2009 |
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The environmental impact assessment report for a $200 million uranium project at Zambia's Lumwana copper mine has been officially approved, and a decision on whether to go ahead is expected later this month. |
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INDUSTRY TALK: |
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13 January 2009 |
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[Korea Herald, Associated Press; 13 January] South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced that it will send a team of officials to North Korea to discuss the purchase of unused nuclear fuel rods at North Korea's Yongbyon facility. |
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13 January 2009 |
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A definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the Gurvanbulag Central uranium deposit in Mongolia has returned positive economics for the project, and suggests that production could start by January 2012 if the necessary government permits are in place by the end of May 2009. |
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12 January 2009 |
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[The Observer, 11 January] Prince Andrew, as the UK's special representative for international trade and investment, is to host a gala lunch on 5 February at Buckingham Palace for representatives of British companies involved in the nuclear energy industry. Meanwhile, big brother Prince Charles has taken on a prominent former Greenpeace policy advisor as his deputy private secretary. |
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9 January 2009 |
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The first inter-regional kyokushin karate tournament among Russian nuclear workers was held at the sports centre in Novovoronezh in late December. Yuri Kalyapin from Novovoronezh nuclear power plant won the 70kg category. |
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8 January 2009 |
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Exelon announced that, as of 6 January, shareholders had tendered 45.6% of all outstanding shares of NRG common stock in response to its takeover offer. Exelon said that it would extend its exchange offer until 25 February. |
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