The floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov was today connected to the grid, generating electricity for the first time in the remote Chaun-Bilibino network in Pevek, in Russia’s Far East. The achievement followed Russian regulator Rostekhnadzor's provision of an operating licence, as well as permission to connect to the northern electricity grid maintained by Chukotenergo JSC. Connecting the plant to Pevek's heat networks will be completed next year.

Russian regulator Rostechnadzor has issued a 15-year operating licence extension for unit 3 of the Smolensk nuclear power plant, the last of three RBMK-1000 reactors at the site in western Russia. The move means the whole plant has permission to operate for a total of 45 years.

Slovenske Elektrarne, the owner and operator of unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in Slovakia, has shown a commitment to safety, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. The team also identified areas for further enhancements at the 471 MWe VVER unit, which is due to start up next year.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Florida Power & Light's application for a 20-year subsequent licence extension for Turkey Point units 3 and 4, the first time the regulator has issued licences authorising reactors to operate for up to 80 years.

Tohoku Electric Power Company has received initial regulatory approval to resume operation of unit 2 at its Onagawa plant in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture. The plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, but sustained far less damage than expected.

Framatome earlier this year applied its ultra-high pressure cavitation peening process on reactor vessel primary nozzles at Dominion Energy's Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford, Connecticut. This marked the first underwater application of this maintenance technique on reactor pressure vessel nozzles to primary pipe welds.

Fuel loading has begun at Darlington 2, Ontario Power Generation has announced. The refurbishment of Darlington 3 is now expected to start in the second quarter of 2020 as the company applies lessons learned during the refurbishment of unit 2.

Commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR is now running six weeks behind schedule, the Areva-Siemens consortium has informed Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj. The supplier is to provide TVO with a revised schedule for the start-up of the plant next month.

Unit 2 of the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant in southwest Russia has entered commercial operation, 30 days ahead of schedule, state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced today. Commissioning of the VVER-1200 brings the number of power reactors in commercial operation in Russia to 36.

French utility EDF has awarded a contract worth almost EUR100 million (USD111 million) to Orano to provide services to its Paluel, Civaux and Gravelines nuclear power plants. The contract runs until 2024, with an option for two additional years.

China's first lead-bismuth alloy zero-power reactor - Qixing (Venus) III - achieved first criticality on 9 October, the China Institute of Atomic Energy has announced. The milestone marks the start of China's core physics experiments into liquid metal cooled fast reactors.

Framatome and Lockheed Martin have completed the installation and site acceptance testing of its Engineered Safety Features Actuation System instrumentation and control system at Exelon Generation’s Calvert Cliffs unit 2.