Russia will become the 31st member of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) following its formal accession to the agency today.

The German energy industry will invest more than €60 billion ($79 billion) by 2020 in constructing and modernizing power plants, partly to compensate for the phase-out of nuclear energy in the country, according to a utility lobby group.

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has welcomed a new chairman and announced the resignation of its director general. A multinational and cross-industry committee will search for candidates to replace John Ritch.

Capitalising on a more positive political outlook, Spain's nuclear industry group has made the case for longer operating lives for the country's reactors based on commercial and safety imperatives.

Industry leaders remain bullish on nuclear power's prospects in coming decades, in part because of the high priority that has been placed on identifying and addressing potential weaknesses such as were revealed last year at Fukushima Daiichi.

The US nuclear industry has adopted an initiative to procure additional on-site portable equipment so that every commercial nuclear facility in the country can respond safely to extreme events.

Robert Willard has been selected as the next president and CEO of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). A former fighter pilot and commander of two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, Willard is currently the Commander of US Pacific Command, Camp HM Smith, Hawaii. He will join INPO in early April 2012 and will assume his new duties upon the retirement of the current President and CEO, Jim Ellis, the following month. "We conducted an extensive search to find an individual who can continue the excellent tradition of industry leadership that Jim Ellis has provided during his seven-year career at INPO," said Mayo Shattuck, chairman of the INPO board. He added, "Admiral Willard's experience, nuclear background, and impressive career accomplishments make him well-suited to lead the Institute." INPO was set up after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 to share operating experience and safety knowledge among US nuclear companies. It was supplemented by an international version - the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) - after the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Incident and Emergency Centre has launched a new secure web-based communications platform to unify and simplify information exchange during nuclear or radiological emergencies.

International cooperation on nuclear safety will come on many fronts in response to the Fukushima accident. In September a draft action plan will be presented by the IAEA, which could include a more prominent role for industry.