Speech: Regulatory harmonisation for SMRs 

Regulators must explore the possibility of harmonising international requirements for advanced and small modular reactor design evaluation and licensing, Rumina Velshi, president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, told delegates at the Advanced Reactors Summit VII held in Knoxville, Tennessee yesterday. In August last year, Velshi and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christine Svinicki signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to expand the agencies' cooperation on activities associated with advanced reactor and SMR technologies.

Perspectives 12 February 2020

Viewpoint: Australia must embrace nuclear power

Australia has three electricity futures - coal, nuclear or chaos. It's time to bring Australia into the 21st century by aggressively embracing the nuclear one, writes Terry McCrann, business columnist with The Australian newspaper.

The prime minister's thought bubble that a future could be crafted out of some hybrid mix of gas generation and so-called renewables is an embarrassingly inefficient and unworkable dead-end. The idea that we could go all renewables - with assorted batteries from the Tesla version in South Australia to the Turnbull one in the Snowy included - is a fantasy; it would be the embracing of the third future: chaos.

Perspectives 03 February 2020

Viewpoint: Financing nuclear projects in developing countries

Developing countries are unable to enjoy the benefits of nuclear power owing to a lack of involvement from development finance institutions, but small modular reactors may provide the key, write Elina Teplinsky and Sid Fowler of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Over the next decade, the world faces two significant interrelated challenges. First, developing countries must increase electric generation to provide their citizens with access to affordable, reliable energy. Second, all nations face the urgent need to rapidly and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

Perspectives 27 January 2020

Viewpoint: The strategic perspective of Barakah

As the United Arab Emirates' Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UAE Special Representative for International Nuclear Cooperation, I am proud to have been given the opportunity to engage with responsible nations around the world for the promotion of peaceful nuclear energy, writes Hamad Alkaabi.

Perspectives 22 January 2020

Viewpoint: The atom made Sweden a climate hero

Sweden has been a great nation for many decades thanks, not to military might nor financial muscle, but to its energy policy. A leader in sustainable development, the country undeniably proved that it is possible to cut emissions dramatically and increase living standards. And it proved this long before climate change became the political issue it is today, write Agneta Rising and John Lindberg, respectively, director general and writer & analyst at World Nuclear Association.

Perspectives 13 January 2020

Viewpoint: Nuclear energy - from recognition to results

Nuclear power's role in the clean-energy solution must be agreed universally this year, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

"The IPCC Global Warming of 1.5°C report of 2018 made clear not only the need to take urgent action to combat climate change, but also the need for nuclear energy to make a much greater contribution to electricity supplies. In 2019 a broad range of expert bodies recognized how nuclear energy is vital to ensure that electricity supplies needed for modern life are available to all, while respecting the environment and tackling climate change ..."

Perspectives 07 January 2020

Viewpoint: Only the atom, not fossil gas, can deliver robust climate action

The pursuit of a solution to climate change via the route of fossil gas is a needless and harmful detour, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

Perspectives 19 December 2019

Viewpoint: EU must include nuclear power in its list of sustainable sources

Climate scientist James E Hansen and others have written to the Financial Times, making the case for the inclusion of nuclear power in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The text of the letter, published yesterday, and the list of signatories to it, follows.

Perspectives 17 December 2019

Speech: Nuclear energy innovation for clean growth

Nuclear energy is a mature and proven low-carbon source of electricity, with a 60-year track record of providing reliable and safe operation. Further innovation and technological development will enable even wider applications aimed at deep decarbonisation of economies around the world and supporting sustainable development. This was the message of King Lee, director of the Harmony Programme at World Nuclear Association, to delegates at the UN side event for Sustainable Development Goal 9, held today at COP25 in Madrid.

Perspectives 03 December 2019

Viewpoint: Can a regulated asset model help deliver new investment?

New nuclear power plant investments face significant challenges, especially in liberalised electricity markets. A regulated asset model may help resolve these challenges. Edward Kee, Ruediger Koenig, Paul Murphy and Xavier Rollat explore the potential and the limits of this model.

Perspectives 27 November 2019