US and French Companies link up to operate new nuclear plants in US and Canada

Nuclear: Smelly, but needed, says King of Jordan

King Abdullah II of Jordan described nuclear power as "sort of smelly and dangerous", but still thinks Jordan will need it. The King had discussed nuclear energy with the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. Jordan plans to have a nuclear power plant by 2015 for electricity and water desalination. King Abdullah II said Canada's reators were very efficient, very clean and very safe.

Flooded mine will take longer to get running again

A uranium mine in Canada that was flooded in 2006 wont be fully up and running until 2011, a year later than initially planned. The Cigar Lake mine, owned by Cameco will eventually be the biggest uranium mine in the world. But recovering from the flooding will take years.

Further steps have been taken in the creation of Russia's nuclear power titan, Atomenergoprom. The current head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, A Putin appointee who arranged the whole thing, will sit as chairman.

Kazakhstan's national uranium company Kazatomprom has been linked to a 10% stake in the US-based nuclear plant designer Westinhouse. It would buy the share from Toshiba, who in turn bought Westinghouse from Britains' BNFL in 2006 for $5.4 billion.

India looks at nuclear to power industrial development

Orissa, on the east coast of India, is a major area of industrial development with increasing energy needs. Local government representatives are proposing building up to 6GWEe of nuclear capacity (equivalent to four of the largest current nuclear reactors) to support the aluminium and steel industries in that region

The conclusions of the Oxford Research Group "Too Hot to Handle? The Future of Civil Nuclear Power" report has been described as 'fatuous' by a senior industry expert. The report suggested that the fact that France 'only' built around 3-4 reactors a year during its peak build phase meant that the world couldn't build 4 a month, which would be needed if nuclear energy were to supply a third of electricity by 2075.

The spot price of uranium fell back $3 on Wednesday, but this was the first significant dip after steady gains for nearly four years. Increasing speculation that a resurgence in nuclear energy and concerns over supplies has see the price of uranium rise almost tenfold to $135/lb.

In his first Prime Minister's Question Time Gordon Brown knocked back an attack on nuclear power from Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell. The Prime Minister said that the security of our future energy supply is best safeguarded by building new nuclear power stations. click here for more information

Areva forge parts for future US reactors

Areva, the French nuclear giant, have forged the first parts for a potential US nuclear reactor, based on their EPR design. The US company, Constellation Energy, agreed with Areva that the components would be made, even though no new US reactor orders have been made yet.
By taking the risk and making these components now Areva will be able to speed up construction of a new US plant if and when the US new build program begins.