Swiss utility Alpiq estimates it will face economic damages of some CHF2.5 billion ($2.5 billion) if voters back an initiative calling for the early shutdown of the country's nuclear power plants in a referendum later this month. However, it says even if the early phase-out is rejected, it cannot operate its reactors economically under current market conditions.

Nuclear energy can help Asian countries achieve future economic growth, energy security and environmental protection, the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) has said in its latest global energy outlook.

Exelon expects to achieve "clarity" before the end of the year over the future of its nuclear plants in the states of New York and Illinois, president and CEO Chris Crane said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to cooperate in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The agreement was signed in Riyadh yesterday during a visit by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nuclear power remains an option for the city-state of Singapore, despite a current focus on increasing security of gas imports and managing power demand. Minister for trade and industry S Iswaran said investment will continue "to learn and understand the technology".

The Paris Climate Change Agreement and the falling costs of renewables have made the transition to clean energy systems unstoppable, keynote speakers told Singapore International Energy Week today. The only thing that remains is to implement it, they said.

South Africa is well-equipped to have nuclear power plants and has a nuclear safety culture, with Koeberg having operated safely for over 32 years, utility Eskom said yesterday. The performance of the Koeberg plant has also consistently been one of the strongest within the Eskom fleet, it said, adding that it is also the cheapest energy provider in South Africa's fleet.

The German cabinet yesterday adopted a draft bill on financing the decommissioning of the country's nuclear power plants and management of its radioactive waste. The bill is based on the recommendation of an independent commission reviewing the financing of Germany's nuclear phase-out.

Alexey Likhachov, the new director general of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has told the country's prime minister that Rosatom's portfolio of foreign orders is expected to reach $137 billion by the end of this year, up from $110 billion at the end of 2015. Likhachov spoke with Dmitry Medvedev on 11 October, according to a statement on the Russian government’s website.

The head of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has confirmed the importance of fast breeder reactor (FBR) development in Japan at a meeting of public and private sector representatives. Japanese governmental policy on FBRs - including the future of the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor - is to be finalized by the end of the year.

Unexpectedly high growth in the renewable energy market, in terms of investment, new capacity and high growth rates in developing countries have contributed to a change in the energy landscape, the latest World Energy Resources report released by the World Energy Council today shows. However, it says nuclear energy "is increasingly seen as a means to add large scale baseload power generation while limiting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions".

Technological innovation, government policies and lower growth expectations will have a significant impact on the global energy industry in the coming decade, according to the World Energy Council (WEC). It expects per capita energy demand to peak before 2030.