A test reactor at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory was restarted yesterday after more than 20 years on standby. The Transient Reactor Test Facility, used to test nuclear fuels and materials under extreme conditions, had not operated since being shut down in 1994.

Dominion Energy Virginia yesterday notified the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it intends to relicense the North Anna nuclear power plant for a second time, as part of its strategy to maintain lower carbon emissions in Virginia. The additional 20-year term would give North Anna's two reactors an operating period of up to 80 years.

The recent mitigation of some of the risks connected with the construction of Vogtle 3 and 4 have further strengthened the case for proceeding with the project, its owners told the Georgia Public Service Commission this week. The PSC will make a decision on the project's future as part of the 17th Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report, for which it is currently holding public hearings.

Energy Fuels is to sell its North Reno Creek uranium project in Wyoming to Uranium Energy Corporation for $5.39 million. The property is adjacent to the fully permitted Reno Creek project acquired by UEC earlier this year and the sale consolidates UEC's position in the region.

The governor of the US state of Connecticut has passed a senate bill that could lead to Dominion Energy being allowed to sell output from its Millstone nuclear power plant alongside other higher-priced clean energy sources, such as wind and solar. However, he said if this is going to happen, the utility must fully cooperate with requests from state authorities for detailed financial information.

Peninsula Energy has started the process to amend the licence and permits for its Lance in-situ leach uranium project in Wyoming, after laboratory tests showed that using an acidic rather than alkaline mining solution could potentially transform the project's operating performance and costs.

The US Department of Energy has announced up to $20 million of funding for projects to identify and develop innovative technologies for lower cost and safer advanced nuclear reactors. The funding is part of a new programme under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) initiative.

The mining of salt from the US Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico is expected to resume in the coming weeks. Mining of Panel 8 was halted in 2014 following separate fire and radiological events that suspended waste emplacement operations at the facility.

The Nuclear Energy Institute has called on US regulators to reform its reactor design certification process by removing an extra tier of information designations it describes as unnecessarily burdensome. The NEI says five years of experience at US construction projects have shown Tier 2* designations reduce flexibility while imposing additional burdens and complexity on both licensee and regulator, without adding any safety benefit.

The European Union is determined to preserve the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, the EU's General Council said today following US President Donald Trump's 13 October announcement that he would not certify Iran's compliance with the deal to the US Congress. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said Iran's commitments under the agreement are being implemented.

Laramide Resources Ltd has announced a maiden independent mineral resource estimate for its 100% owned Church Rock project in New Mexico. The estimate of over 50 million pounds U3O8 in inferred resources supersedes historical estimates for the purposes of NI 43-101 reporting for the property, which Laramide acquired earlier this year.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday issued a notice of a proposed rule that would repeal the 2015 Clean Power Plan. The EPA asserts that the regulation, which would set emissions standards for US power plants, exceeds the agency's statutory authority.