Work to upgrade unit 5 of the Kozloduy nuclear plant in Bulgaria has been completed, extending its operations by 30 years to 2047, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Bulgaria's Energy Ministry both announced yesterday. Meanwhile, Bulgaria today committed itself to fast-tracking payment of the debt it incurred to Russian companies for scrapping the Belene nuclear power plant project.

Continued operation of Ontario Power Generation's Darlington nuclear power station following its refurbishment will save the emission of 297 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the period from 2024 to 2055, an independent report has found.

Japan Electric Power Development Corp has announced a further two-year delay in the construction of additional safety measures at unit 1 of the Ohma nuclear power plant, being built in Japan's Aomori prefecture. Construction of the unit is now expected to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.

Kansai Electric Power Company has released a plan of safety improvement works it will carry out to extend the operating periods of units 1 and 2 of its Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture beyond 40 years. Regulatory approval for operating the units for up to 60 years has already been granted.

The second pair of replacement steam generators has been delivered to the Embalse nuclear power plant in Argentina. The components will be replaced as part of a project to extend the operating period of the Candu pressurized heavy-water reactor by up to 30 years.

After six years of planning and preparations Ontario Power Generation (OPG) says it is "ready to execute" refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear power plant and remains within the CAD 12.8 billion ($9 billion) estimate for the project, which is to start next month.

BWX Technologies subsidiary BWXT Canada Ltd is to manufacture and deliver eight steam generators for Bruce B unit 6 under a CDN 130 million ($100 million) contract with Bruce Power.

Swedish utility Vattenfall has decided to invest in safety upgrades to enable the three reactors at the Forsmark plant to continue operating beyond 2020. The decision follows the government's announcement last week that it will abolish a tax on nuclear power.

NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes has announced plans to quadruple its capacity for dispensing the medical radioisotope molybdenum-99 produced at the University of Missouri Research Reactor.

French utility EDF has signed an agreement to extend its cooperation with Rosenergoatom, the operator of Russia's civil nuclear power plants. The companies will cooperate in reactor operations, decommissioning and waste management.

Canada's Federal Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a judicial review of the environmental assessment (EA) for Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) planned refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear power plant. The lawsuit was brought by groups led by Greenpeace Canada.

The full-scope simulator at Slovenia's single-unit Krško nuclear power plant is to be upgraded by Canada-based L-3 MAPPS under a contract signed with operator Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško.