Russia floats barge for waterborne nuclear plant

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Russia (Reuters) – Russia on Wednesday took a big step toward the controversial creation of the world’s first floating nuclear power station, putting a barge that will house the plant into the water.

Environmentalists say Russia’s plan to dot its northern coastline with floating nuclear power plants is risky. (more…)

Ukraine, Russia sign deal to build two nuclear power reactors

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Ukraine and Russia signed Wednesday an agreement on cooperation in construction of two nuclear power reactors at Ukraine’s Khmelnytskiy Nuclear Power Plant, the government reported.

The agreement was signed in Kiev by Yuriy Boyko, the Ukrainian energy and fuel minister, and Sergei Kiriyenko, the general director of Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear power corporation. The value of the agreement was not disclosed. Ukraine had been seeking to attract investments worth about $3.83 billion that would be enough to build the two reactors at Khmelnytskiy NPP by the end of 2016. (more…)

Enel, Inter RAO To Collaborate On Future Nuclear Projects

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Enel and Inter RAO have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in
future nuclear projects and building new technical innovation, energy efficiency, distribution, both in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The companies plan to develop a new nuclear plant in Kaliningrad, which is said to be the first public-private partnership in the nuclear sector in Russia. (more…)

Brussels against exporting nuclear waste outside EU

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Brussels is against member states exporting their nuclear waste to countries outside the EU or to store it in joint sites, energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger said, as the commission is working on a set of common safety standards for this dangerous material.

“It is the duty of national politicians to do their homework,” Mr Oettinger told Financial Times Deutschland in an interview published on Wednesday (10 March). The German commissioner warned against common storage sites, as well as exporting the radioactive material outside the EU, for instance Russia. (more…)

Sweden wants explanation on Baltic nuclear ‘dumping’

Friday, February 5th, 2010

The Russian military allegedly dumped nuclear waste into the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s, according to a report on Swedish television.
Radioactive material from a military base in Latvia is thought to have been thrown into Swedish waters. For many the biggest shock is that the Swedish government may have known at the time and done nothing about it.

The partly enclosed Baltic Sea is known as one of the most polluted seas in the world. But now it seems it was also used as a dumping ground for Russian nuclear waste and chemical weapons. (more…)

Interest in reactor cools as construction costs soar

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

The European Union is heading for a clash with other major economies over the timetable for building an experimental fusion reactor.

European governments want to slow down construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) because they are paying for the bulk of the construction costs and are concerned that the budget is spiralling out of control. Other countries involved in the ITER project are, however, strongly opposed to any kind of delay. (more…)

“Nuclear plant idea was Serbian”

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

BELGRADE — Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin has confirmed that Russia offered to build a nuclear power plant in Serbia.

But the idea, he said during his visit to Zrenjanin in the north of the country, came from the Serbian side. (more…)

German Company Sent Nuclear Material for Open-Air Storage in Siberia

Monday, November 9th, 2009

The Western media reported last week on how the German company Urenco shipped nuclear material to Siberia, where the highly toxic waste was stored in containers in the open air. The company has stopped deliveries and will store the material with higher standards in Germany in the future.

The radiation warning sign was so small that few passers-by took note in the commuter rail station in Kapitolovo, Russia. Fifty-six steel canisters were sitting there on a summer day three years ago. Just a stone’s throw away, people were waiting for trains to take them to downtown St. Petersburg. (more…)

The CZK 500 billion game

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Although the information hasn’t made front page headlines yet, the biggest behind-the-scenes swarm of lobbyists is now hovering over the construction of two additional reactors at the Temelín nuclear plant. The actual deal looks “somewhat” different. The state-owned energy giant ČEZ is looking to secure five nuclear reactors: two for Temelín and another three for power plants that the energy company plans to build abroad, altogether, a contract worth CZK 500 billion. It’s a gigantic tender, the biggest in Czech history. (more…)

Italy’s ENEL may join Russia nuclear power plant

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Italy’s power firm Enel is interested in joining a project to build a nuclear power station in Russia’s region of Kaliningrad, the project leader Inter RAO said on Thursday. Inter RAO’s Chief Executive Yevgeny Dod told reporters his company was also talking to other potential foreign partners. (more…)