25 February 2010
The South African government and Eskom have announced drastic cuts to the funding for development of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). "Directors are contemplating a large-scale restructuring ... to reduce costs and extend the operating life of the company." This is likely to involve a 75% cut in employee numbers, to about 200. Talks continue to seek further investment, and recently the company signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for collaboration in developing the high-temperature reactor design. China is about to build a very similar demonstration plant.
Areva has been granted exclusive rights to mine for uranium in the central region of Jordan under an agreement signed with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC). This follows an agreement 18 months ago which led to setting up a joint venture company, Nabataean Energy, which will now conduct a feasibility study on mining the central phosphate deposits. Areva said that the "agreement paves the way for a long-term partnership between Areva and JAEC in the development of Jordan's nuclear power generation program." Jordan plans to have a large reactor in operation for power and desalination by 2020, and several reactor designs are under consideration.
WNA Information papers recently updated: Small nuclear power reactors; Energy subsidies; Nuclear proliferation case studies; Canada tar sands.
WNA Country papers recently updated: Bulgaria; Iran; Lithuania; Russia; South Africa.
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