Nuclearelectrica, the company that runs Romania’s sole nuclear power plant, located in Cernavoda, has chosen China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) as its investor for the development of two new nuclear reactors.
The project is worth of some 6.5 billion euro, according to company sources.
The Chinese company was the only bidder in the tender procedure organised by Nuclearelectrica.
President Francois Hollande ousted the pro-nuclear boss of France's main power utility EDF on Wednesday, replacing him with the head of defence electronics firm Thales a day after a new pro-renewables policy became law.
Outgoing Chairman and Chief Executive Henri Proglio had been seeking to renew a mandate that expires next month.
But his pro-nuclear views and status as a 2009 appointee of conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy sat uncomfortably with the policy of Hollande's Socialist administration, which pushed through a new law on Wednesday that caps nuclear production at the current level.
One of the reactors at the ageing Hunterston nuclear power station in North Ayrshire has been plagued by two serious new breakdowns.
Two large gas circulators vital for cooling the reactor and preventing meltdown were damaged when the lubricating oil was mistakenly switched off. And on Thursday the reactor had to be shut down because its turbine generator was shaking more than it should.
These latest mishaps come after the discovery of two new cracks in the reactor's graphite bricks, as well as a rash of nuclear incidents across Scotland during the week.
(Reuters) - Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have asked prospective buyers for their jointly-owned nuclear fuel enrichment firm Urenco to submit indicative bids by year-end, sources familiar with the process said.
The governments, which each own a third of Urenco, have agreed to test the market's appetite for the world's second-largest nuclear fuel vendor before deciding whether to kick-start a privatisation process that could fetch up to 10 billion euros ($13 billion), said the sources.
Fears over energy security raised by Ukraine and a potential in/out referendum on Europe may have helped the EU do a U-turn on new reactors
Anti-nuclear campaigners looking for someone to blame if Hinkley Point in Somerset finally gets the green light for two new reactors might point the finger at Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin could also be a scapegoat for the European competition commissioner's decision to back the UK government's support for the first new atomic power stations in a generation. But others would say it is less about the politics of European togetherness or energy security and more about the EC commissioner himself, Joaquín Almunia.
As the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy reviewed the final Ignalina nuclear power plant (NPP) decommissioning plan, it turned out that the closing price will stand at EUR 2.6 billion at least, while the closing deadline has been extended for 9 years, informs LETA/ELTA.
The initial decommissioning plane, passed back in 2005, spoke about closing the plant by 2029 for EUR 1.24 billion.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary unexpectedly cut off natural gas shipments to Ukraine on Thursday, days after getting assurances from Russian supplier Gazprom that it would get enough deliveries to fill up its own gas storage facilities.
Hungary had been sending an estimated 3 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Ukraine, which has not received any from Russia since June. But FGSZ, Hungary's gas transmission firm, said it suspended the flow to Ukraine indefinitely to ensure pipeline capacity for incoming deliveries as it builds its own reserves.
Finland’s government has come under renewed pressure over its decision to approve a Russian-built nuclear reactor after legal experts questioned the independence of the economy minister responsible for the plan.
There were claims that technical plans for the plant were based on a flawed and outdated design by Rosatom, the Russian state-owned company that holds a 34 per cent stake in the project.
Olli Rehn, the Finish MEP and former EU economics commissioner, wrote on his blog on Sunday night that the plan for the Fennovoima nuclear plant was “economically uncertain and politically crippled”.
HELSINKI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Finland's government has rejected an application from utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) to extend a permit for a new nuclear reactor in the west of the country, Economy Minister Jan Vapaavuori told reporters on Thursday.
TVO had requested a five-year extension to the Olkiluoto 4 reactor project because it was dealing with delays and overruns at its predecessor, Olkiluoto 3.
(Reuters) - Austria's environment minister would back legal steps to annul any European Union decision to clear British plans to build a nuclear plant with French utility EDF.
The project at Hinkley Point in southwest England is crucial for Britain's plan to replace a fifth of its ageing nuclear power and coal plants over the coming decade. France sees it as a major export contract that will boost its nuclear industry.
