Nuclear power in Europe

Agreements on cooperation to revive Italy’s nuclear sector and give LUKoil a foothold in the European refining sector topped a slew of deals signed Thursday, overseen by President Dmitry Medvedev and visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

But Berlusconi, renowned for impolitic and controversial statements, grabbed the most attention with comments about Barack Obama, describing the U.S. president-elect as “young, attractive and even suntanned.” (more…)

A government bill overturning Italy’s moratorium on nuclear power has been approved by the lower chamber of the country’s government and has been passed for approval to the country’s Senate.

The bill, approved by the Camera dei Deputati on 4 November, was amended several times after much debate between the right-wing majority and the minority and also within the government itself. The amendments include a new deadline of 30 June 2009 for the government to find sites for new nuclear power plants, revised from the original deadline of December 2008 (the sites of Italy’s shut down nuclear plants are no longer considered suitable); the establishment of a Nuclear Regulatory Agency, whose board will be named by the country’s president in consultation with the prime minister and the government; and provision for the sites of the new plants to be subjected to military control if necessary. (more…)

Remember that “The Simpsons” episode where Homer gains so much weight he plugs the cooling tower? Hilarious stuff. Laugh out loud funny.

This joke EnergySolutions is playing on all of us - nuclear regulators, the governor and Utah residents? Not so funny. (more…)

Nuclear waste from Italy won’t be rolling into Utah anytime soon.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it is postponing a decision on whether low-level radioactive waste from Italy can be buried in Tooele County. In order to grant a license, federal regulators must be sure that the waste has somewhere suitable to go, and they won’t have that assurance unless a federal court ruling clears the way, the NRC said. (more…)

MILAN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Italy’s nuclear decommissioning company Sogin will invest 490 million euros ($711 million) under its new 2008-2012 business plan to speed up decommissioning of power stations, part of Italy’s ban on nuclear power.

Sogin’s new plan comes as Italy, which rejected nuclear power in a referendum in 1987 after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, debates the possibility of a nuclear energy revival to help offset rising oil costs and the emission of greenhouse gases. (more…)

MILAN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Italy, which rejected nuclear power 20 years ago, may see a nuclear plant up and running in 2017, the country’s biggest utility, Enel, said on Friday.

Italy banned nuclear power after holding a referendum on the issue in 1987, following the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. But the nuclear-friendly government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to lift the ban and create conditions for a nuclear energy relaunch by 2012. (more…)

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Italy agreed on Wednesday to work together to develop nuclear energy to ease their reliance on expensive oil and gas.

“I’m pleased to announce our two countries will work together in the area of nuclear energy,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (more…)

The Russian state company on nuclear energy Rosatom this week signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development over the construction of a vessel for transports of spent nuclear fuel from bases on the Kola Peninsula.

According to Rosatom, the vessel will be financed as a whole by the Italian side. The ship, which is to be built by the company Fincantieri is expected to cost 71,5 million EUR. (more…)

Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday appealed for the prime minister to shed light on a media report in which it was claimed that Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is considering Malta as a suitable spot for a nuclear power plant.

AD’s spokesman for sustainable development Carmel Cacopardo said the report featured in the Italian newspaper Il-Sole 24 Ore and mentioned Malta, Albania and Montenegro as possible sites for power plants. The report was compiled after a statement released in relation to Dr Gonzi and Mr Berlusconi’s meeting last week. (more…)

WASHINGTON — Bulgaria has sent its remaining highly enriched uranium to Russia for safeguarding from terrorist or other potential misuse.

Nearly 14 pounds of the spent fuel were received Thursday at a Russian nuclear facility, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced. A first shipment of 37.3 pounds of fresh uranium fuel was sent to Russia in December 2003. (more…)