Climate change is an often heard argument for the once called nuclear "renaissance". However, if one looks closer, there was something fishy about the industry using climate change protection as its most prominent feature... » Read more
More then thirty years of debate, and the controversy remains as polarised as ever. This website (to be fair - whose maintainer is anti-nuclear) collects news about nuclear power in Europe, sorted by nuclear power plant, type of power plant, country etc.
By presenting different (media) angles on current nuclear issues, we hope to be able to cut out some spin, either pro or against, and to allow the reader to make up his or her own mind about today's pro's and con's of nuclear power.
In the menu on the right you can select your country, the nuclear power plant in your neighbourhood, or your favourite company and read latest (most English) news about it.
Latest nuclear news
EDF May End U.K. Nuclear Plan Unless Profit Guaranteed, CEO Says
Wednesday, February 6, 2013Electricite de France SA’s chief executive officer said he’s willing to join Centrica (CNA) Plc in walking away from building the U.K.’s first reactors in two decades unless the government ensures the project is profitable.
“We won’t do it” if if the price for their power isn’t high enough, CEO Henri Proglio said in an interview in Bure, eastern France. “I won’t qualify myself as confident, but rather conscious that an agreement can be reached” on prices.
France's Areva insisting on halting Temelín tender
Tuesday, February 5, 2013Prague, Feb 4 (CTK) - French nuclear firm Areva has appealed a decision of the Czech antitrust office UOHS which in January turned down its request to suspend the tender to complete the nuclear power plant Temelin, the firm told CTK in a press release Monday.
The energy group CEZ, Temelin's operator, excluded Areva from the tender for the expansion of Temelin, which is located in south Bohemia near the Austrian border, in October.
Areva, however, is trying to return to the tender process.
Areva said it requires and insists on suspending the current stage of the Temelin tender so that it may effectively protect its rights and interests.
Centrica pulls out of new UK nuclear projects
Tuesday, February 5, 2013LONDON (Reuters) - Utility Centrica has pulled out of plans to build new nuclear power stations in Britain with partner EDF, paving the way for Chinese investors to enter the UK market through a partnership with the French firm.
Centrica said it had decided to waive an option of taking a 20 percent stake in four new reactors - two at Hinkley Point in Somerset and two at Sizewell in Suffolk.
Centrica's decision was largely expected, but it casts some doubt on the UK government's plan to attract investment to revive the nuclear industry.
Enel’s Mochovce Project Faces Delay, Higher Costs, Sme Says
Friday, February 1, 2013The construction of two new reactors at Mochovce nuclear plant by Enel SpA’s Slovak unit will cost more than planned and will be delayed by two years, Sme reported, citing Economy Minister Tomas Malatinsky.
The project is set to be completed by 2015, compared with the original deadline of 2013, while costs are expected to rise to 3.7 billion euros ($5 billion) from the originally estimated 2.8 billion euros, the newspaper quoted Malatinsky as saying.
Continued EU support for nuclear plant closures?
Thursday, January 31, 2013Lithuania's prime minister says ending support in 2020 could delay the full closure of its Ignalina plant.
Leaders of the European Union's member states are expected at their summit next week (7-8 February) to agree to cover roughly half the costs of decommissioning Soviet-era nuclear power plants, as part of a deal on the EU's long-term budget.
Bulgaria set for nuclear power referendum
Sunday, January 27, 2013Bulgarians are set to vote in a referendum on whether a new nuclear power plant should be built.
The opposition Socialist party called the vote because it wants the government to reverse its decision not to build a new plant at Belene.
The first referendum in Bulgaria's post-Communist history has polarised opinion and is seen as a precursor of general elections later this year.
Secret UK uranium components plant closed over safety fears
Friday, January 25, 2013A top-secret plant at Aldermaston that makes enriched uranium components for Britain's nuclear warheads and fuel for the Royal Navy's submarines has been shut down because corrosion has been discovered in its "structural steelwork", the Guardian can reveal.
The closure has been endorsed by safety regulators who feared the building did not conform to the appropriate standards. The nuclear safety watchdog demands that such critical buildings are capable of withstanding "extreme weather and seismic events", and the plant at Aldermaston failed this test.
Poland examines three potential sites for first nuclear power plant
Thursday, January 24, 2013In Poland work is under way at locating the best site for what will be the country’s first nuclear power plant.
Industrial Info reports that state owned Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA has awarded the site characterisation, licensing and permitting services contract for the plant to the WorleyParsons consortium. The contract is valued at $81.5m and will run for more than two years.
Nuclear power plant
The Polish government intends to eventually generate 3,000 MW of electricity through nuclear power, as it attempts to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas imports.
Toshiba plots bid for Britain’s nuclear fuel maker
Monday, January 21, 2013LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Toshiba Corp. is weighing plans to bid for Urenco, the nuclear fuel producer backed by the U.K., the Netherlands and two German energy giants, the Sunday Times reports without citing sources.
The newspaper says the Japanese industrial giant, which owns the nuclear reactor builder Westinghouse Electric, wants to bid for the business if and when it comes on the market.
Urenco, which enriches uranium for nuclear fuel, is owned by the U.K. and Dutch governments and German firms RWE A.G. and E.ON S.E., who own a third each.
Regulator wants more info before clearing Belgian reactors
Wednesday, January 16, 2013The Belgian nuclear regulator said Tuesday it wanted more information before it could make a final decision on whether to restart two reactors, shut down last year after cracks were found in them.
The regulator, AFCN, said that it had received detailed reports on the Doel 3 and the Tihange 2 reactors from various experts and at this stage saw "no reason that they be shut down definitively."