The Annual Reports
WNISR
Essential News
WNISR
Figures & Tables
WNISR
in the Media
Who We Are
Support
What They Say…
Our
RSS
feed
WNISR
on Twitter
World Nuclear Power Reactors 1951–2024
MENU
Home
WNISR
Essential News
1
…
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
…
25
30 May 2013
Construction Start at Second Unit in United Arab Emirates (
UAE
)
On 28 May 2013 construction officially began at the second unit of the Barakah plant in the United Arab Emirates (
UAE
). Present at the concrete pouring to mark the event were officials from the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (
ENEC
) and the prime contractor, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (
KEPCO
). The reactor is scheduled to take five years to build and therefore be operational by 2018, a year behind the first unit. Each unit at the plant is a 1.4
GW
APR
reactor. The total (...)
7 May 2013
Kewaunee Plant in Wisconsin Closed
On 7 May 2013, Dominion, “one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy”, closed its Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Wisconsin. The plant owner had intended to sell the facility but failed to identify a buyer. The 39-year old 535
MW
reactor was first connected to the grid on 8 April 1974 and is the second
US
reactor to shut down in 2013, after operator Progress Energy decided in February to close Crystal River for good. The decision is particularly remarkable as “despite (...)
6 May 2013
Duke Energy Cancels Shearon Harris Project in North Carolina
On the 3 May 2013
US
utility Duke Energy announced that it had withdrawn the 1998 license request for the construction and operation of two 1000
MW
reactors at the Shearon Harris plant in North Carolina. The company informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (
NRC
) that the plant was no longer needed due to sluggish demand growth forecasts. However, others contest the explanation and suggest that Duke have consistently exaggerated demand growth projections and that the changes in the (...)
6 May 2013
US
Ownership Rules Hurdle for South Texas Project
On 29 April 2013 the
US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (
NRC
) put a break on plans for the construction of two reactors at the South Texas Project (
STP
). The proposal was to build two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (
ABWR
) at
STP
, through a company called Nuclear Innovation North America (
NINA
).
NINA
was originally a joint venture between Toshiba American Nuclear Energy Corporation (
TANE
) and
US
company
NRG
. However, following Fukushima,
NRG
, pulled out of the project and according to the (...)
28 March 2013
Swiss Mühleberg Reactor Gets Unlimited Operating License
On 28 March 2013, the Swiss Federal Court has ruled in favor of the operator of the Mühleberg nuclear power plant and overruled a March 2012 judgement by the Federal Administrative Court that limited the operating license to the end of June 2013 (see Switzerland: Mühleberg Reactor Likely to Close in 2013). This ruling means de facto an unlimited operating license for the 42-year old 373
MW
Boiling Water Reactor (
BWR
), that reached first criticality on 8 March 1971 and was connected to the (...)
26 March 2013
UK
Government Awards Planning Permission for Hinkley C and Launches its Long Term Strategy for Nuclear Power
In the
UK
on 19 March 2013 the Government granted planning consent for the construction of two
EPR
reactors at the Hinkley C nuclear power plant. The project has now been given the majority of approval that is required to begin construction. However, despite the announcement, it is far from clear when or if the project will proceed. In particular, the negotiations between the Government and
EDF
on the guaranteed price of electricity (the strike price) have yet to be concluded. Although the (...)
16 March 2013
Construction Start at Vogtle Reactor in the
US
On 15 March 2013, first concrete was poured at the third unit of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia, symbolizing the start of construction. The reactor is a Westinghouse
AP
1000 design and one of two new units for the nuclear power plant near Atlanta. The reactors are expected to be finished in 2017 and 2018, a year behind schedule. The construction cost is expected to be $14 billion and are supported by a $8.33 billion federal loan guarantee, awarded in February 2010. The (...)
12 March 2013
Summer, South Carolina: First Construction Start in 36 Years in the
US
It was no coincidence. On 11 March 2013, the second anniversary of the start of the Fukushima disaster,
SCANA
Corporation—company slogan: “Power for Living”—announced the official beginning of the construction of the Virgil C. Summer Unit 2 reactor in Fairfield County, South Carolina. This is the first new nuclear power reactor construction start in the
US
in 36 years. South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (
SCE
&G) is a subsidiary of
SCANA
and plans to complete two Westinghouse (...)
27 February 2013
Bulgarian Parliament Votes to Abandon Belene Nuclear Plant
Bulgarian Parliament Votes to Abandon Belene Nuclear Power Plant On 27 February 2013 the Bulgarian Parliament voted by 114 to 40 to permanently abandon the Belene nuclear power plant. The vote was prompted by a referendum on 27 January 2013, in which 61% of the public called for new nuclear construction and 39% voted again. However, turnout of just 21% was below the 60% required for the result to be binding, but above the 20% required to trigger official debate and consideration in (...)
26 February 2013
AREVA
Out in Finland,
EDF
Facing Two‑year Delay in
UK
Troubling news for the French state controlled nuclear industry groups
AREVA
and
EDF
.
AREVA
has lost a potential market for its
EPR
(European Pressurized Water Reactor) in Finland and
EDF
might have to sit out a lengthy European Commission investigation before it can envisage to invest in new projects in the
UK
. The Finnish energy group Fennovoima has terminated the on-going bidding process for a new 1600
MW
reactor and has invited Toshiba to direct negotiations over the potential supply (...)
1
…
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
…
25