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
Energy security 'at risk' if ministers fail to seal EDF nuclear deal
Sunday, April 14, 2013Britain's energy security will be put at risk and future generations left to suffer with higher bills if ministers fail to agree a deal with EDF Energy to build Britain’s first new nuclear plant in a generation, the industry’s main representative body has claimed.
In the starkest warning yet over the £14bn Hinkley Point project, Lord Hutton, chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association, argues that failure would undermine Britain’s credibility with investors and threaten other projects across the energy sector.
Poland's nuclear plant project needs state backing-PM
Monday, April 8, 2013WARSAW, April 2 (Reuters) - Poland will need to provide some form of state support for its long-awaited nuclear plant that is expected to cost $15 billion, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.
Poland, the European Union's largest eastern member, originally planned to launch a 3 gigawatt nuclear plant by 2023 and to double that capacity by 2030 to reduce its dependence on highly polluting coal.
Mitsubishi-Areva wins Turkey nuclear deal
Thursday, April 4, 2013TOKYO, April 4 - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France's Areva have won an order to build Turkey's second nuclear power plant - a project that is expected to cost some $22bn, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday, citing Japanese and Turkish sources.
Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry has informed the Japanese government and corporate officials of the decision to award the deal to build four pressurized water nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of about 4.5GW at Sinop on the Black Sea, the report said.
Nick Butler: Nuclear power yesterdays technology?
Thursday, April 4, 2013Why is it proving so difficult to close the deal on new nuclear in Britain? In part, of course, there is the normal arm wrestling negotiation. This is focused on the so called "strike price" - an energy price below which the suppliers will get compensation from the state - and on the allocation of risk around a £14bn construction contract.
The UK government wants a strike price of around £65 to £70 per MWh which is high but probably politically defensible. They well remember that in 2008 EDF talked about a price of £45 per MWh. EDF now wants something between £95 and £100, but they can probably afford to accept the Government's figure and still make a reasonable profit.
Urenco powers up pace of sell-offs
Saturday, March 30, 2013Much has been written about government plans to privatise Royal Mail in the biggest such deal since the railways were sold in the 1990s.
Yet, another large state asset has moved on to the auction block, with much less fanfare. The low-key plans to sell Britain's one-third stake in Urenco, the uranium enrichment company, for up to £3bn, in part reflects the sensitivity of its activities.
UK seeks 3bn from uranium group sale
Saturday, March 30, 2013Ministers are looking to raise up to £3bn before the end of the year through the sale of the government's 33 per cent stake in Urenco, the uranium enrichment company, in one of the biggest privatisations in years.
The deal would be a relief to the Treasury, which hopes that a series of sales will put a dent in the country's towering debt. Royal Mail could also be sold this year, raising £3bn-£4bn.
Dutch nuclear plant Borssele approved for longer life
Friday, March 29, 2013FRANKFURT/AMSTERDAM, March 27 (Reuters) - Dutch nuclear reactor Borssele has been given permission to operate up to 2033, though the approval can still be contested, Dutch and German stakeholders said on Wednesday.
Started in 1973, the 500 megawatt plant is one of the oldest reactors in Europe. It is 70 percent owned by Dutch generator Delta, in turn owned by Dutch provincial authorities, and 30 percent by German utility RWE.
EDF, U.K. Unlikely to Meet End-March Deadline on Nuclear Subsidy -Sources
Friday, March 29, 2013French electricity company Electricite de France SA and the British government are unlikely to meet a deadline at the end of March to agree on subsidies that would allow the construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.K., people familiar with the matter said.
The people said in recent days that although discussions are still ongoing, they aren't intensive and neither side appeared to be willing to make any compromises.
British nuclear support plans flout EU rules - lawyers
Thursday, March 21, 2013BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's plans to reward nuclear plant operators through fixed prices for low-carbon energy are illegal under existing EU rules and efforts to adapt them are likely to draw opposition from other member states, EU and legal sources said.
Britain plans to reform its electricity market to fix a minimum price for nuclear, wind and solar-generated power, which is carbon free.
Czech villagers embrace disputed nuclear plant
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Flanked by Germany, which is phasing out nuclear power, and Austria, which has already done so, the Czech Republic is pinning its future on atomic energy.
The ex-communist republic of 10.5 million people, which now relies on nuclear for about 30 percent of its energy mix, is pushing an upgrade of its disputed Temelin plant and betting on getting at least half of its energy from the atom by 2025.