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US-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are teaming up with Canada’s Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Poland’s Synthos Green Energy (SGE) to advance global deployment of the GEH BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR).

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsus-canadian-and-polish-companies-to-support-bwrx-300-deployment-10708358

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Japan’s Hiroshima High Court high court has rejected a petition by local residents to halt the operation of unit 3 at Shikoku Electric Power Co’s Ikata NPP in Ehime Prefecture, upholding a lower court decision. This will allow Shikoku Electric to continue operation of Ikata 3, which is currently closed for a regular inspection until 19 June.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsjapanese-high-court-supports-operation-of-ikata-npp-unit-3-10708366

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Nordic power company Fortum and stainless-steel producer Outokumpu have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the decarbonisation of Outokumpu’s steel manufacturing operations using emerging nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs).

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsfortum-and-outokumpu-to-use-smrs-to-decarbonise-steel-production-10708375

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Russia’s TITAN-2 (part of Rosatom) has begun construction of the training centre at the Kursk-II NPP in the operators town of Kurchatov. The centre is designed to cater for 200 employees of the new power units. The 2760m2 building will have three to five storeys in different areas. It is located in the city centre and will house a complex of engineering and technical equipment, including simulators, to support the training and education. Currently workers are preparing the foundation pit for the building. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsconstruction-of-training-centre-begins-at-russias-kursk-ii-npp-10708380

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US-based Last Energy has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 34 PWR-20 small modular reactor (SMR) units with four industrial partners in the UK and Poland. Last Energy said the deals, worth $18.9bn in power sales, mark “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under development in the world”.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newslast-energy-secures-power-purchase-deals-for-34-smrs-in-poland-and-the-uk-10708386

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US power company Xcel Energy has shut down its Monticello NPP after an additional water leak was detected following previous reports about the leak of 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Health MDOH) said in a statement they were “encouraged that Xcel Energy is taking immediate action to address the recurring issue”. Xcel Energy said the new leak, located near the spot of the earlier release, is still ongoing.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsmore-leaks-shut-down-monticello-npp-10708387

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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, currently on a visit to Ukraine, said on his Twitter page that he had met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the safety of the Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP). He said he had met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Zaporizhia City and “had a rich exchange on the protection of the Zaporizhia NPP and its staff. I reiterated the full support of the IAEA to Ukraine’s nuclear facilities”.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiaeas-grossi-in-ukraine-to-reassess-nuclear-safety-10709801

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Beijing also has 19 units under construction – more than any other country The Fangchenggang-3 Hualong One reactor in southern China completed a 168-hour trial test run on 25 March. Courtesy CGN. Unit 3 of the Fangchenggang nuclear power station in the Guangxi Autonomous Region of southern China has begun commercial operation, bringing the number of commercial reactors in the country to 56 – the second highest in the world equal with France.

China General Nuclear (CGN) said the 1,000 MW pressurised water reactor unit – the first of two demonstration HPR1000, or Hualong One, reactors at the site – completed a 168-hour trial test run at 06.55 on 25 March, “officially meeting the conditions for commercial operation”.

The Hualong One is an indigenous PWR. It incorporates elements of China National Nuclear Corporation’s ACP1000 and CGN’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.

Fangchenggang-3 achieved first criticality on 27 December and was connected to the grid for the first time on 10 January. Construction of the plant, which is owned and operated by Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture of CGN and Guangxi Investment Group, began in 2015.

A total of six reactors are planned to operate at the Fangchenggang site, close to the border with Vietnam. Units 1 and 2, which began commercial operation in 2016, are both CPR-1000s. Units 3 to 6 will all be Hualong One reactors.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: nucnet.org/news/reactor-goes-commercial-as-china-equals-france-for-number-of-nuclear-plants-3-2-2023

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Agreement reached to hand back related CAD 300 million Cameco’s corporate headquarters in Saskatoon, Canada. Uranium miner Cameco is urging the Canada Revenue Agency to return CAD480m ($352m, €324m) in withheld tax after an agreement to return a related CAD300m.

Cameco said on Monday (27 March) that past court rulings require the CRA to refund all CAD780m the company has been seeking in a dispute over its transfer pricing transactions for the 2007-2013 tax years.

Cameco said a series of court decisions that were “completely and unequivocally” in Cameco’s favour for the 2003, 2005 and 2006 tax years determined that the income earned by Cameco’s foreign subsidiary from the sale of non-Canadian produced uranium was not taxable in Canada.

Cameco said the CRA had issued revised reassessments for the 2007 to 2013 tax years that will result in it being refunded CAD300m, consisting of CAD89m in cash and CAD211m in letters of credit.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: nucnet.org/news/uranium-company-urges-canada-to-return-full-cad-780-million-in-tax-dispute-3-2-2023

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Russia-supplied VVER plants to cover one third of electricity needs There are two Russia-supplied Generation III VVER-1200 reactor units at the Belarusian nuclear power station. Unit 2 of the Belarusian nuclear power station has achieved first criticality taking a step closer to commercial operation, the Belarusian energy ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the 1,110-MW VVER-1200 reactor unit near Ostrovets in western Belarus is now operating in test mode at 1% of its design nominal output level.

First criticality at a nuclear power reactor unit means the plant achieved a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction for the first time.

The ministry said the next milestone in the commissioning process will be connection to the national power grid once the reactor unit reaches 40% of its nominal power level.

Increasing the reactor power levels will be subject to testing and regulatory approval, the ministry said.

Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Original article: nucnet.org/news/unit-2-at-ostrovets-achieves-first-criticality-as-commissioning-continues-3-2-2023

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