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The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest report, Electricity 2024, dedicates a significant amount of space to nuclear power – a departure from its previous studies which treated it as peripheral. In its press release on the new report, IEA says the increase in electricity generation from renewables and nuclear "appears to be pushing the power sector's emissions into structural decline". Over the next three years, low-emissions generation is set to rise at twice the annual growth rate between 2018 and 2023. Global emissions from electricity generation are expected to decrease by 2.4% in 2024, followed by smaller declines in 2025 and 2026.

Date: Friday, 26 January 2024
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiea-acknowledges-significance-of-nuclear-energy-in-new-report-11463539

The Netherlands has established an effective programme for managing its used fuel and radioactive waste for its current needs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste & Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning & Remediation (ARTEMIS) mission. The Government of the Netherlands, the Authority for Nuclear Safety & Radiation Protection (ANVS) and the Central Organisation of Radioactive Waste (COVRA) have demonstrated a commitment to safety, innovation and openness, the review team concluded.

Date: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiaea-reviews-used-fuel-and-radwaste-management-in-netherlands-11352003

‘No technical arguments’ for shutting down nuclear plants after 40 years Unit 2 at the Tihange nuclear power station in Belgium is scheduled for permanent shutdown this week. Courtesy Electrabel. Belgium should repeal its 2003 nuclear exit law as it looks for ways to deal with the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting gas and electricity price increases, the Brussels-based Belgian Nuclear Forum said.

The underlying argument of the 2003 law is that a nuclear plant is obsolete after 40 years and should be decommissioned, the forum said.

“Nothing could be further from the truth: there are no technical arguments for definitively shutting down a nuclear power plant after 40 years of operation, but only political arguments,” it added.

The forum issued the statement as owner and operater Engie Electrabel prepares to permanently shut down the Tinhange-2 nuclear power plant on 31 January. The 1,008-MW pressurised water reactor unt began commercial operation on 1 June 1983 and has been online for 40 years.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the last couple of decades have witnessed increased interest in the extension of the operating life of nuclear power plants. Extending the life of a plant is more economical than building a new one, and where it makes business sense. The agency says about 90% of US plants have already renewed their licences to extend their operation to 60 years, with additional extensions for a total of 80 years being considered. In Europe, plants are regularly seeking lifetimes of 60 years.

Date: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Original article: nucnet.org/news/as-tihange-2-approaches-closure-industry-group-calls-for-repeal-of-2003-nuclear-exit-law-1-1-2023

Global optimism ‘rising’ about potential of reactors to help achieve net zero emissions Fatih Birol (left) and Rafael Grossi at the International Atomic Energy Agency discussion on nuclear power at Cop27 in Egypt. Courtesy IAEA. Nuclear power is making “a strong comeback”, but the international financial community has so far “failed” to provide the level playing field needed for nuclear to help the world tackle its most pressing challenges, from climate change to sustainable development, International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol told the Cop27 United Nations climate conference in in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Birol told an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discussion on nuclear power: “I don’t give them a passing grade.”

“Countries that were saying goodbye to nuclear power, they are rethinking their plans,” Birol said, adding that the IEA had been engaged in talks with both Belgium and Germany.

“We are very happy that both governments are now in the process of postponing their nuclear phaseout plans, understanding the role that nuclear plays in addressing this energy security challenge,” he said.

In addition, another group of countries is now considering extending the lifetime of their existing nuclear power reactors to respond to this challenge, which is one of the cheapest forms of low carbon power, Birol said. Still another group of countries are rolling out plans to build new reactors, including seemingly “surprising” ones such as the Netherlands and Poland as well as Japan and South Korea.

Date: Friday, 11 November 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/nuclear-making-strong-comeback-but-financial-community-has-failed-to-provide-level-playing-field-11-4-2022

Protocols to amend two international instruments strengthening the rights to compensation for those affected by nuclear energy accidents have been formally ratified and will enter into force on 1 January.

Date: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-liability-protocols-ratified-to-strengthen

Given the EU's legally binding 2050 comprehensive decarbonisation policy with adequate CO2 pricing, the closure of many large nuclear power plants in Belgium and Germany, and an EU-wide coal power phase out by 2030-2050 and the inability of intermittent renewable energy to supply the scale and quality of energy needed for continent-scale decarbonisation, there is a strong business case to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in the EU by 2040, writes Kalev Kallemets, co-founder and CEO of Fermi Energia.

Date: Friday, 08 October 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Viewpoint-Energy-crisis-demands-quickly-scalable-S

Thirty-five years on from the Chernobyl accident, Ukraine and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have highlighted their commitment to cooperation in nuclear power. Meanwhile Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has launched the start of operations at a new storage facility for used nuclear fuel at the Chernobyl site.  

Date: Wednesday, 28 April 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Title

A group of 46 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 18 countries has written to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, calling for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy for sustainable investments. The exclusion of nuclear, they say, would promote a strategy that is "clearly inadequate" to decarbonise the region's economy.

Date: Thursday, 08 April 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NGOs-call-for-nuclears-inclusion-in-EU-taxonomy

The challenges the nuclear industry faces are largely external and must be overcome if it is to help tackle the existential threat of climate change, panellists in the Nuclear Energy and its Future session of the Reuters Next conference on 11 January said. These challenges include: the notion nuclear is an out-dated technology; the cost of finance; market design; political changes; perceived competition with renewable energy; and the public's misconceptions about radioactive waste.

Date: Friday, 15 January 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/The-real-challenges-to-nuclear-are-external,-says