Iran
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reiterated Tuesday that London will support a new UN resolution against Iran if Tehran does not curb its nuclear programme.
AFP 4th Sept 2007 more >>
Finland
Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) said it has reconnected the Olkiluoto 2 nuclear reactor to the national grid following a 24-hour shutdown due to a malfunction in the generator cooling system.
Interactive Investor 5th Sept 2007 more >>
South Africa
A South African court has given a suspended sentence to a German who pleaded guilty to involvement in a global nuclear smuggling ring. Gerhard Wisser – a long-term resident of South Africa – was accused of making parts which could have helped Libya make a nuclear weapon.
BBC 4th Sept 2007 more >>
Russia
A green organisation is taking legal action against the Russian government over what it claims is environmental genocide. Citizen has accused the authorities of systematically ignoring the plight of thousands of villagers living near the country’s largest nuclear waste processing plant. Many of them have developed serious illnesses as a result of radiation poisoning in the Chelyabinsk region near the Ural Mountains.
Sky News 5th Sept 2007 more >>
Companies
French state-owned nuclear energy group Areva has set up a joint venture company with Tokyo, Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The newly-created company, Atmea, will be based in Paris, France and will develop, market, license and sell a new nuclear reactor that will be created by the two firms.
Energy Business Review 4th Sept 2007 more >>
The state-sponsored merger of Suez and Gaz de France that is set to create one of Europe’s biggest utilities is a template for the development of the continent’s energy policy, France claimed on Tuesday. The remarks by Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France’s Europe minister, will ring alarm bells in Brussels and other European Union capitals. Although the European Commission gave regulatory approval to the deal last year, its broader vision of a competitive and open pan-European energy market is decidedly at odds with the drive by Paris to create French-led industrial champions.
FT 5th Sept 2007 more >>
New nukes
Letter: When will our political leaders and the public realise that the risks of having nuclear power generation pale into insignificance when set against the risks of not having it? Simple use of calculating machines using available data make this truth very clear.
Telegraph 5th Sept 2007 more >>
Fusion
Letter from Brian Robinson, Head of Energy, Institution of Mechanical Engineers: The challenges of climate change dictate that we cannot afford to put all our eggs in one Fusion basket, but must instead get on with implementing the many low-carbon, secure and sustainable engineering solutions we already have, such as wind energy, solar energy and combined heat and power. At the moment we are merely scratching the surface of the technologies available to us.
Times 5th Sept 2007 more >>
North Korea
Japan reacted anxiously yesterday to reports that the United States is to remove North Korea from a list of terrorist states, amid concerns that Tokyo is being sidelined in the rush to a Korean peace agreement.
Times 5th Sept 2007 more >>
Japan
Water containing a small amount of radioactivity has leaked from a nuclear power generation unit in Japan, owner Kansai Electric Power said on Tuesday, adding to a long line of problems in the tarnished industry.
Christian Today 4th Sept 2007 more >>
Reuters 4th Sept 2007 more >>
Bulgaria
Enel SpA was shortlisted, along with five other companies, to take part in a joint venture to build a 7 bln eur nuclear plant in Bulgaria. The companies shortlisted include Electricite de France, Suez’s Electrabel, E.ON AG, RWE AG and CEZ of the Czech Republic. The participants have until Sept 24 to present offers to buy a 49 pct stake in the Belene Power Company that will run the power plant. The remaining 51 pct will be owned by Bulgarian electric utility Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD(NEK).
Interactive Investor 4th Sept 2007 more >>
US
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reversed a three-year secrecy policy and said Tuesday it would release hundreds of documents involving the troubled operations of a Tennessee nuclear fuel processing plant.
Guardian website 4th Sept 2007 more >>
