Press Release
Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has won a €250 million contract with AREVA to supply safety instrumentation and control (I&C) technologies and systems for the French nuclear reactor modernisation programme. The systems will be installed in the twenty-strong French fleet of 1300 MW nuclear reactors operated by Electricité de France (EDF). Read it all..
Magnox Press Release
Magnox has awarded a framework contract worth £304 million for de-planting, demolition and bulk asbestos removal across 10 nuclear reactor sites in the UK. Read it all..
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has informed Westinghouse that it has agreed to close a ‘regulatory issue’ raised against its AP1000 reactor design. The regulatory issue, opened in February 2010 by ONR’s predecessor organisation (HSE’s Nuclear Directorate) concerned the AP1000’s civil structures, which were assessed by the regulator as part of the Generic Design Assessment, run jointly by ONR and the Environment Agency.
EDF Group is announcing a five year extension to the operating lifetime of its nuclear reactors at Heysham 1 and Hartlepool until 2019. The decision taken at a British Energy Board meeting follows positive results from technical and economic and safety studies conducted on these reactors. Read it all..
Press Release
THE UK’S CIVIL NUCLEAR TRADE ASSOCIATION today hailed the “clear and tangible progress” after government “justified” new reactor designs and released further draft National Policy Statements.
Keith Parker, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) was speaking today in light of the government’s announcements and said he is: “delighted to see that the coalition’s positive words have been matched by some concrete actions”.
Government today confirmed the new generation of reactors designs were justified– an important legal step on the road to new nuclear power stations in the UK – and released National Policy Statements (NPS’s) – a key phase of the planning for all large infrastructure projects – for a second phase of public consultation.
Keith Parker said: “Our member companies are preparing to invest billions of pounds in the UK’s energy infrastructure and we welcome this added clarity from Government. New nuclear build will be one of the biggest programmes of private infrastructure investment which this country has ever seen. These positive moves from government – coupled with a maintained forward progress – will reassure those investors that the political framework is sufficiently stable to allow that commitment to be made”.
Justification is a legal requirement under EU and UK law, which requires that the benefits of a new process must outweigh the radiological health detriments. The Secretary of State’s conclusion was based on a review of a detailed application made by the NIA with support from the major utilities.
Press Release
London, UK, 2 December 2009 — Malcolm Wicks MP, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on International Energy Issues; former Minister of State for Energy has agreed to present the case for a new generation of nuclear reactors in the context of the challenges that face the UK and the global community.
