Uprates

SE switches on two upgraded nuclear power units

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The main electricity producer in Slovakia, Slovenske Elektrarne (SE), which is 66% owned by Italian power giant Enel and 34% owned by the state, has completed its EUR 500 million investment into upgrading two units of the V2 power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice.

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Nuclear super-fuel gets too hot to handle

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

It seems like a no-brainer. Make uranium burn stronger, hotter and longer in nuclear reactors, and you'll need less fuel, and there'll be less waste to deal with when it has been exhausted.

For decades, nuclear operators have done just that, but emerging safety and waste-disposal issues are raising questions about this approach. The latest high-efficiency fuel may prove to be unstable in an emergency, and so poses a greater risk of leakage of radioactive material into the environment. What's more, the waste fuel is more radioactive, meaning it could prove even more difficult than existing waste to store in underground repositories.

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