• France will help Italy revive nuclear power industry

    Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi sign an agreement which will see the Italian power company, ENEL, and its French counterpart, EDF, study the feasibility of building four power stations in Italy

  • Sweden: Mid-course correction on nuclear power

    Sweden had planned to phase out its nuclear energy capacity, ending it in about twenty to thirty years’ time or when the installations came to the end of their lives; government announced that “The phase-out law will be abolished. The ban in the nuclear technology law on new construction will also be abolished”

  • Breakthrough: New nuclear fusion-fission hybrid reactor

    High power Compact Fusion Neutron Source (CFNS) would provide abundant neutrons through fusion to a surrounding fission blanket that uses transuranic waste as nuclear fuel; the fusion-produced neutrons augment the fission reaction, imparting efficiency and stability to the waste incineration process

  • Decision on U.K. site for next generation nuclear reactor nears

    The U.K. government has given the nuclear industry two months to choose a site for the next generation nuclear reactor; from 2010, developers will be able to apply for development permits for the sites chosen

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  • How long will the world's uranium deposits last?

    At current consumption rates, the planet’s economically accessible uranium resources could fuel reactors for more than 200 years; further exploration and improvements in extraction technology are likely to at least double this estimate over time; if we extract uranium from seawater, and build breeder reactors, then supplies will last 30,000 to 60,000 years

  • Japan to restart controversial fast-breeder reactor

    Japan, an economic giant with no natural energy resources, is to restart its controversial fast-breeder nuclear reactor this year after a series of safety scares caused the closing of the plant for more than 13 years

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  • Top 7 alternative technologies to fossil fuel

    Energy expert says that an “all of the above” approach to the world’s energy problem is wrong; study shows wind and solar to be the most promising alternative technologies to fossil fuel; biofuel, clean coal, and nuclear power are do not hold such promise

  • Alps laboratory tests methods of storing nuclear waste

    Two test tunnels in Switzerland are used to study methods of storing nuclear waste; many scientists from around the world take part in the research

  • "Small is beautiful" comes to the nuclear power industry

    The main problem facing nuclear power is not the fear of accidents or terrorism, or anxiety about nuclear waste disposal; it is cost (it takes about $4,000/kilowatt to build a nuclear power station); there is a growing interest in small, tub-size nuclear power units

  • Energy industry likely prime cyber attack target

    Critical infrastructure insiders say the energy industry is also the most vulnerable to cyber attacks and would have the most detrimental breach

  • Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository too small

    Congress has placed a 77,000-ton limit on the amount of nuclear waste that can be buried in Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository (the repository will open in 2020 at the earliest); trouble is, the 104 active U.S. nuclear reactors, together with the Pentagon, produce that amount of waste in two years

  • U.K. project examines the idea of a nuclear-powered passenger aircraft

    As worries about the rising price of oil and climate change grow, so grows the interest in nuclear power — but not only for ground-based power generation; a U.K. government-funded project examines the idea of nuclear-powered passenger plane

  • Energy companies targeted by Web-borne malware

    New report says the energy companies experienced more Web-based malware attacks than any other vertical market in the third quarter of this year, with an increased rate of exposure of 189 percent

  • New reactor design lessens risk of weapon proliferation

    Nuclear materials for power reactors cannot be stolen by those interested in using it for nuclear weapons while the material is in the reactor — it is too hot to handle; the risks of diversion are during the enrichment process, and while the material is being transported; to lessen the risk, researchers offer innovative reactor design

  • Russia to build IAEA-supervised nuclear fuel bank

    The nuclear fueled bank would allow countries, including Iran, to develop civilian nuclear power without having to enrich their own uranium, thus allaying fears over nuclear weapons proliferation