It is one thing for a green pressure group to claim nuclear power is too expensive, but quite another when the charge comes from the head of an atomic industry pioneer such as General Electric.
GE built some of the world's first commercial atomic reactors in the 1950s and has remained an industry leader since its nuclear joint venture with Japan's Hitachi in 2007.
German energy giant RWE has appointed advisers for a strategic review of Urenco the nuclear power company it co-owns with the British and Dutch government.
The move could press the UK Government to formalise its own strategy on disposal of the company, which is expected to net UK taxpayers 1bn.
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.
An accident at Germany's sole uranium enrichment facility in North Rhine Westphalia has left one worker in hospital under observation.
The incident occurred at the plant in the town of Gronau, when a room in the uranium enrichment facility was accidently exposed to radioactive material. The worker was in the room when the accident occurred, and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He is expected to be released Friday.
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.
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Uranium enrichment companies in the United States and Europe have seen an increase in customer interest after the recent conflict involving Russia and Georgia, industry sources said on Thursday.
Nuclear reactors are dependent on reliable supplies of fuel, made from uranium ore that has been converted into a gas which in turn is enriched into nuclear fuel.
Bidders interested in buying the Government's share in the uranium company Urenco have contacted its former chairman about forming a consortium to table an offer for the stake which could be worth up to £4bn.
Neville Chamberlain, who was chairman of Urenco from 2002 to 2005, said: "I have had discussions with various potential bidders." He added: "I would not be surprised if a bid emerged."
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Accident investigators will today begin their investigation into the cause of an explosion at a company which makes centrifuges for the Urenco uranium factory in Almelo.
No-one was hurt in the blast, which the fire brigade describes as a ‘chemicals incident’.
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Urenco Group said 2007 was another successful year for uranium enrichment company in which turnover rose 15 pct on the previous year to surpass 1 billion euros for the first time.
The company, one third owned by the UK government via British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., said full-year pretax profit after minorities grew to 238.5 million euros, largely driven by the strong performance of its existing operations.
The Times, January 31, 2008
The man responsible for raising £8.3 billion for the Treasury by selling off some of the country's most controversial assets is poised to receive a bonus of £766,200 for successfully winding up British Nuclear Fuels.
Mike Parker, chief executive of BNFL, which used to own Westinghouse, the nuclear reactor maker, as well as Sellafield, could receive the bonus before the end of the financial year, The Times has learnt.
