U.S. Backs U.N. Committee Call for Nuclear Disarmament

A disarmament committee of the United Nations passed a resolution yesterday that calls for the global elimination of nuclear weapons. The United States added its support to the measure for the first time in nine years, Kyodo News reported...
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New Transparency Measures Urged to Fight Nuclear Tech, Material Smuggling

A wide array of potential new measures to heighten the penalties for smuggling nuclear-weapon technology or materials were debated during a three-day conference here last week...
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China Plans to Build Advanced Nuclear-Power Plant

China will start building its first large nuclear-power reactor with home-developed "fourth generation" technology in 2012-13, a senior engineer involved in developing the system said.The Experimental Fast Reactor will have a designed annual power-generating capacity of 800 megawatts, and is due to come online around 2020, according to Xu Mi, chief engineer with the China Institute of Atomic Energy's Fast Reactor Experiment Department...
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EDF under pressure to pull out of US venture

The French government is urging Electricite de France to think about dropping its plan to acquire nearly half of Constellation Energy's nuclear assets and to partner with the U.S. company to build four nuclear reactors. In his testimony before the French parliament, Henri Proglio, who is set to take over EDF in November, said he was "not sure that [the U.S. deal] needed to be done." ...
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Transport a driver for nuclear build

A combination of electric vehicles with clean generation and nuclear power for baseload will solve America's climate and energy security problems, according to testimony from a senior utility chief.David Crane of NRG Energy, which has some 24,000 MWe of generating capacity, spoke in front of the US Senate's Committee on Climate Change Legislation yesterday...
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Exelon says $50 bln loan program would spark nukes

The chief executive of Exelon Corp (EXC.N), the largest U.S. nuclear power generator, said an additional $50 billion in government loan guarantees for nuclear power would be enough to spark the industry to build new plants. The current nuclear loan guarantee program of $18.5 billion could be expanded if utilities and lawmakers who back the industry win new incentives in U.S. climate legislation...
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US-UAE nuclear deal to take effect soon-State Dept

The United States and United Arab Emirates are finalizing a landmark nuclear power cooperation agreement now that Congress has given its tacit approval, U.S. officials said on Thursday...
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News Roundup  Exelon's Pa. nuclear plant secures license renewal from NRC

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday renewed the operating license for Exelon Corp's 786-megawatt Unit 1 at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania for an additional 20 years until 2034...
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Israel Eyes Attacking Iran Over Nuclear Program

Israeli leaders are having a “serious conversation” about carrying out a unilateral attack on Iran should that nation continue to develop a suspected nuclear-weapon capability, one U.S. journalist said Wednesday following an investigative reporting trip to the Middle East...
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Iran Appears to Reject Uranium Management Proposal

Iran today appeared to turn down a U.N. proposal for France and Russia to refine a large portion of the nation's low-enriched uranium for use at a medical research reactor in Tehran. Instead, the Middle Eastern state proposed that it be allowed by buy additional nuclear material from other countries in an exception to international sanctions already in force, Reuters reported...
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Of Climate Change and Nuclear Power

Nuclear power should play an essential role in our efforts to mitigate climate change, argues Stewart Brand, the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog and longtime environmental activist...
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ElBaradei Pitches Plan to Manage Iranian Uranium

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei today proposed a draft plan for France and Russia to refine about 75 percent of Iran's low-enriched uranium for use at a medical research reactor in Tehran, temporarily addressing international concerns that such material could be converted for use in a nuclear weapon, Reuters reported...
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Iran Resists Deal to Ship Nuclear Fuel to Outsiders

President Obama’s effort to buy some time for diplomatic engagement with Iran appeared to run into further obstacles on Tuesday, when an Iranian delegation here balked at a deal in which it would ship much of its nuclear material out of the country temporarily, so that it could be converted for medical purposes...
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Clinton Calls for Expanded IAEA Authority

The International Atomic Energy Agency needs stronger authority to seek out potential clandestine facilities around the world that could be involved in nuclear weapons production, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a nonproliferation policy address today...
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Clinton Major Speech on Nonproliferation

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rebuffed North Korean hopes it may be accepted as a nuclear state, saying the United States will never have normal, sanctions-free ties with a nuclear-armed North Korea...
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Groups criticize Obama's nominee for NRC post

Anti-nuclear groups are fighting the Obama administration’s nomination of a pro-Yucca Mountain nuclear industry insider to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On Oct. 9, President Barack Obama nominated Bill Magwood to the commission, which is charged with regulating and licensing all civilian use of nuclear materials, including the stalled nuclear waste dump proposed for 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas...
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Chu Supports Nuclear for Climate Effect

The United States should get its own carbon-emitting house in order before looking to slap tariffs on energy-intensive goods from developing countries like China and India, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Tuesday...
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Obama: Climate + Nuclear = "Effective"

President Obama gave a nod yesterday to a budding bipartisan Senate effort on energy and climate legislation during a New Orleans town hall meeting where he also pledged to push for the bill's passage once Congress finishes its work on health care...
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Iran's Openness to Nuclear Compromise Debated

The dramatic expansion of Iran's uranium enrichment program over the last decade has led some analysts to speculate that Tehran could accept measures aimed at preventing it from building bombs in exchange for greater international acceptance of its nuclear work, the New York Times reported today...
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CPS Energy Board Approves STP Expansion

The board of trustees of CPS Energy on Tuesday voted unanimously to proceed with the planned expansion of the South Texas Project...
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Site studies begin for Aqaba nuclear plant (Jordan)

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) on Tuesday launched environmental and feasibility studies for the location of the Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant...
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U.S., Russia must lead on arms control

The United States faces the urgent challenge of using the year ahead to limit the risks of nuclear proliferation and to lower the level of nuclear weapons in the world. Achieving these goals is crucial to a peaceful century...
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 NRC approves Constellation-EDF nuclear deal

US regulators have approved a plan for French-based EDF to take a stake in Constellation Energy Group, clearing a key hurdle for a new nuclear power plant in Maryland, the companies said Friday...
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Independent regulator to monitor UAE nuclear power

When the UAE breaks ground on its first nuclear power plant, independent regulators will be there every step of the way, with the clout to halt work, approve construction materials, and decide whether it is ever switched on...
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Greenpeace changes the politics

The latest manifesto from Greenpeace UK is the first ever with no explicit anti-nuclear policies. It was launched with the tagline "Change the politics. Save the climate."
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Belgium postpones nuclear phase-out

The Belgian government has put back its plans to phase out nuclear power by ten years - but the country's nuclear energy producers will have to pay for the privilege of continued operation...
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Call for two more UK nuclear plants

The U.K. needs to build two nuclear power plants by 2020 to achieve its carbon-emissions targets, the government's climate-change committee said...
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Avoid problem of carbon dioxide by building more nuclear plants

Lawmakers who believe that technology for capturing and storing carbon can aid in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from coal power facilities are "being unrealistic," writes Carolyn Heising in this opinion article...
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Nuclear Plants Cautiously Phase Out Dial-Up Modems

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested the operators of the country's nuclear power facilities to voluntarily upgrade their Emergency Response Data Systems by replacing their telephone dial-up modems with VPN appliances...
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Danger to Pakistan Nuclear Weapons

Islamic extremists took scores of hostages and killed 14 people in an attack on Pakistan's army headquarters Saturday, heightening international concerns that the nation's nuclear-weapon facilities might be vulnerable to militant incursion, the Associated Press reported yesterday...
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"Substantial" Progress in START Negotiations

Russia and the United States have moved significantly closer to agreement on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, Moscow indicated today...
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Washington Caps drafted to promote nuclear power

In a move that has already rankled climate critics, the Washington Capitals skated into the global debate over clean energy with an unprecedented endorsement of nuclear power...
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Land being excavated for new Vogtle reactors

Workers at Plant Vogtle are toiling 20 hours a day to accelerate progress on what is likely to become the nation's first new commercial reactor project in decades...
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U.S. Sea-Based Missiles Seen as "Core" Nukes, Maybe at ICBM Expense

The U.S. Navy's nuclear-armed missiles are likely to remain the "core" of the nation's deterrent force when the results of a major review are unveiled at year's end, a senior Defense Department official said in an interview...
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Iran, U.N. Powers Discuss Nuclear Issues at Meeting

Negotiators from Iran and the United States spoke directly today on the sidelines of a multilateral meeting that Western powers hope will lead Tehran to suspend its disputed nuclear activities, the Associated Press reported...
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U.S.-UAE nuclear pact edges toward implementation

A U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates is expected to go into force within the next month, despite concerns raised by some members of Congress about the moderate Gulf state's ties with Iran, congressional and industry sources said on Tuesday...
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North Korea Scorns Nuclear "Grand Bargain"

North Korea suggested today it would not accept a "grand bargain" offered by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in hopes of persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear-weapon operations, Reuters reported...
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Iran Rules Out Discussion of Second Enrichment Site

Iran indicated yesterday that it did not intend in talks with six world powers to discuss the recently disclosed construction of a second uranium enrichment facility, Reuters reported...
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