Nuclear power in Europe

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…)

The European Nuclear Energy Leadership Academy (ENELA) is going to open in Germany to attract university graduates to the nuclear energy sector and train future leaders in the field.

The founding treaty of ENELA was signed here on Thursday by six European nuclear energy companies, which are shareholders of the academy. (more…)

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said yesterday that it will probably bid again for a nuclear research reactor project pursued by the Netherlands in the second half of this year.

Institute director Yang Myeong-seung said, “We are actively considering re-entering the bid for PALLAS, a project on the construction of a nuclear research reactor in the Netherlands.” (more…)

The European Commission decided to extend the period of financial support to Bulgaria for the decommissioning of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. On top of the EUR550 million already allocated, the Commission has pledged a sum of EUR300 million for the time period 2010-2013. (more…)

Back in 2003, it had seemed like such a good idea, at least to the European Commission (EC). Nuclear energy safety lapses can have transnational consequences and so surely the European Union (EU) should have an active role in making sure its member states’ nuclear power plants are safe? After all, there are EU agencies controlling the safety of food, chemicals, civil aviation, shipping and a host of other issues – so why not nuclear power? A directive was duly proposed detailing powers and responsibility for the EU in nuclear safety. Well, as it turned out, national governments just did not like this idea. Nuclear power proved just too strategic an industry for member states to want to hand over authority to Brussels, and the proposal ran into the sand, which is where it has stayed. (more…)

HELSINKI, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Nuclear power will play a key role in helping the European Union cut its dependence on fossil fuels and secure future energy supplies, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday.

“Nuclear energy will have a prominent role in leading the EU towards a low-carbon society,” Rehn said in the text of a speech at a conference in the Finnish city of Turku. (more…)

Two previous proposals failed; European Commission seeks greater interest in nuclear energy.

All nuclear activity in the EU will be subject to common safety rules, if a draft directive adopted by the European Commission wins the backing of member states.

Under the plans, published on 26 November, international nuclear safety standards – the 1996 Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), and the 2006 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fundamentals – would form the backbone of legislation that would be mandatory for all EU member states. (more…)

Regulators warn against common EU standards.

The European Commission will scale down its ambitions for EU-wide nuclear-safety rules when it publishes a draft directive next week (27 November). (more…)

SOFIA, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Romania is due to sign a deal with selected foreign bidders to build two more reactors at its nuclear power plant in Cernavoda on Nov. 20, one of the investors, GDF Suez, said on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Balkan country decided to retain a 51 percent stake in the planned reactors and leave the remaining 49 percent for the six bidders it chose last year as partners.

The partners are Belgian Electrabel, owned by French power giant GDF Suez, German power giant RWE, Czech utility CEZ, Italy’s Enel, Spain’s Iberdrola and a Romanian unit of steel giant ArcelorMittal. (more…)

Brussels (Platts) – 13 Nov 2008 – The European Commission has stopped just short of directly exhorting EU countries to develop nuclear power in its updated overview of the EU nuclear sector unveiled Thursday as part of its second strategic European energy review.

“The choice to include nuclear energy in the energy mix lies with [EU countries],” said the EC in its nuclear overview, known by its French acronym PINC. (more…)