LYON, France (AFP) — A French wine could soon change its name before next year's grape harvest to avoid being associated with a uranium leak at an eponymous nuclear power facility.
"The idea is making progress and I hope it will be achieved before the 2009 harvest," said Henri Bour, president of the Coteaux du Tricastin controlled term of origin, or "appellation d'origine controlee".
A new generation of nuclear power stations could be built in flood-risk or "environmentally protected" areas, under proposed rules set out by the Government today.
Green safeguards are listed among "discretionary" criteria ministers intend to use to decide where to put the controversial reactors - not those that would instantly rule out a site. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is believed to want up to eight new reactors as part of a global "renaissance of nuclear power" to help end reliance on fossil fuels.
Centrica on Wednesday fulfilled its long-standing vow to take control of Belgian power company SPE, frustrating Gaz de France’s plans to sell its stake to EDF.
The UK energy group exercised a pre-emption right over GDF’s 25.5 per cent stake in SPE for €515m (£407m) in cash, with another €105m later. The deal is expected to be completed in September.
Britain has been accused of trying to water down a European Union directive designed to give renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar power easier access to national electricity grids.
The UK has been pushing to amend a key passage in the directive, so that instead of saying EU member-states "shall" give priority access to renewables, it would say only that they "may" do so if they wish, The Guardian reported.
MADRID, July 22 (Reuters) - Spain's 1,000 megawatt Vandellos II nuclear plant was reconnected to the national grid on Tuesday morning, having been offline since Sunday, a spokesman said.
The spokesman added that the plant had been feeding the grid since 0526 GMT and was currently supply about 120 MW. All of Spain's eight nuclear power plants are now working at part or full capacity.
PARIS (AP) — Electricite de France says 15 workers were exposed to radioactive contamination while carrying out maintenance at a nuclear plant in the French Alps.
France's nuclear industry is under increased scrutiny following uranium leaks earlier this month. France depends on nuclear power for the majority of its electricity.
SOFIA, July 21 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy has reconnected one of its 1,000 megawatt reactors to the national grid after completing planned annual maintenance 13 days earlier, the plant said on Monday.
Kozloduy shut down the unit in early June and restarted it last Friday. The reactor was loaded with fresh nuclear fuel.
The 35 year old reactor at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant last week got the authorities’ blessing for another ten years of service.
The reactor is the oldest of the four reactors at the Kola NPP, Russia’s northernmost nuclear power plant. According to Rosatom, the company which is running all of Russia's nine NPPs, the reactor will now produce power until year 2018.
WASHINGTON -- Bulgaria has sent its remaining highly enriched uranium to Russia for safeguarding from terrorist or other potential misuse.
Nearly 14 pounds of the spent fuel were received Thursday at a Russian nuclear facility, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced. A first shipment of 37.3 pounds of fresh uranium fuel was sent to Russia in December 2003.
he French nuclear giant Areva yesterday confirmed there was a radioactive leak from a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in south-eastern France, a week after a uranium spill at another of its plants polluted the local water supply.
The latest incident comes as an embarrassment to the French government as it struggles to contain environmentalists' anger and reassure residents near its nuclear plants that they are safe.
