| ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: |
| Nuclear a competitive energy option, study shows |
| 25 March 2010 |
| Nuclear energy is a highly competitive energy option for the production of baseload electricity, the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have concluded in their latest joint study into generating costs. |
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| NEW NUCLEAR: |
| ESP application for new Texan plant |
| 26 March 2010 |
| Exelon has submitted an application to the US nuclear regulator for an early site permit (ESP) for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Victoria County, while withdrawing its application for a combined construction and operating licence (COL) for the plant. |
| USEC, DoE reach $90 million cost share agreement |
| 24 March 2010 |
| In a move suggesting growing confidence in USEC's American Centrifuge technology, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has agreed to provide the company with $45 million in funding for its ongoing technology demonstration and manufacturing activities. |
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| WASTE & RECYCLING: |
| Construction licence for Ignalina waste facility |
| 24 March 2010 |
| Lithuania's shut down Ignalina nuclear power plant has been issued a licence by the country's nuclear regulator to construct a very low-level radioactive waste facility at the site. |
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| NUCLEAR POLICIES: |
| UK on target for low-carbon future |
| 25 March 2010 |
| UK greenhouse gas emissions continued to decline in 2009, partly thanks to increased use of nuclear power. Meanwhile, the latest budget by the country's government announced a Green Investment Bank to support the move to a low-carbon economy. |
| Polls show support for nuclear, but waste concerns |
| 23 March 2010 |
| A public opinion poll in the USA shows that support for the use of nuclear power has reached a record high of over 60%. However, a separate poll of "opinion formers" in the USA and six European countries shows that, while support for nuclear is high, dealing with used nuclear fuel remains a concern. |
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| REGULATION & SAFETY: |
| Isotope producers under repair |
| 26 March 2010 |
| Status updates from NRG and AECL explained the difficulties in conducting major repairs on the world's two biggest medical isotope production reactors. |
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| CORPORATE: |
| New York commission rejects Entergy spin-off plan |
| 29 March 2010 |
| Entergy's proposal to spin off six nuclear power plants, including three in New York state, into a new company called Enexus has been rejected by the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC), which said the move was not in the public's interest. |
| New Brunswick-Quebec energy deal off |
| 26 March 2010 |
| The Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec have pulled out of an agreement that would have seen Hydro-Quebec acquire most of NB Power's generation assets including the Point Lepreau nuclear power station. |
| Japanese company buys Kalahari stake |
| 26 March 2010 |
| Japanese trading house Itochu has agreed to acquire a 15% share of Kalahari Minerals plc, giving it an interest in the Rössing South uranium deposit in Namibia. |
| Westinghouse assumes management of UK fuel plant |
| 25 March 2010 |
| Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse is to assume the long-term management of the Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing site in the UK under an agreement with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). |
| German reactor restarts after lengthy outage |
| 23 March 2010 |
| RWE's Biblis A pressurised water reactor - Germany's oldest operating nuclear power unit - has restarted after over a year offline for ?68 million ($92 million) of upgrades and modernisation work. |
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| EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL: |
| Go-ahead for nuclear fuel reserve |
| 29 March 2010 |
| A reserve of low-enriched uranium is to be set up in Russia, according to an agreement the country made with the International Atomic Energy Agency today. |
| Chinese Candu reactor trials uranium reuse |
| 24 March 2010 |
| The first re-use of nuclear fuel in a Candu reactor has started at a Chinese nuclear power plant. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd announced that fuel bundles containing recovered uranium from used fuel had been inserted into Qinshan Phase III unit 1. |
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| INDUSTRY TALK: |
| Sixth Rajasthan reactor now on-grid |
| 29 March 2010 |
| India has 19 nuclear reactors supplying power to the grid after the synchronisation of Rajasthan Atomic Power Project unit 6 (RAPP 6). Reactor power will now gradually be increased, all the while supplying India's Northern Grid. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd said the synchronisation occurred at 1.53 am on 28 March. |
| Aliens eye up Australian waste site |
| 26 March 2010 |
| It appears that it is not only Australia's federal government that is interested in a site in Northern Territory, proposed for a national radioactive waste repository. |
| China plans '28 more' reactors by 2020 |
| 23 March 2010 |
| China has approved the construction of a further 28 new nuclear reactors by 2020 under revised targets to meet rising energy demand and accelerate the development of the industry, according to media reports. |
| Name change proposed for FPL Group |
| 23 March 2010 |
| FPL Group has announced a proposal to change its name to NextEra Energy Inc. The change of name has already been approved by its board of directors and will be put forward for shareholder approval at its annual meeting, scheduled for 21 May. |
