Unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant in northwest Russia has produced 5.7 terawatt hours of electricity since it was connected to the grid on 9 March 2018, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said yesterday. The unit became the second VVER-1200 reactor to start up, following the launch in 2016 of Novovoronezh unit 6.

Ongoing excellent nuclear performance throughout long operating lives is contributing to meeting global energy and climate goals, World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising told the World Nuclear Spotlight Brazil conference in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. During the event, Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque said the country was committed to resuming the Angra 3 project.

The 13-year Major Component Replacement project being undertaken as part of Bruce Power's life-extension programme will inject billions of dollars into Ontario's economy, a new report has found. Meanwhile, the major project to refurbish Darlington unit 2 remains on track for completion in 2020, Ontario Power Generation has announced.

US nuclear power plants achieved their highest level of generation ever in 2018, despite the closure of several plants since the previous peak, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Long-term irradiation testing of China National Nuclear Corporation's CF3 pressurised water reactor fuel has been completed.

Mexican state utility CFE has a good basis to manage the long-term operation of the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant, an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has found.

Canadian company Kinectrics has been awarded contracts for projects related to safety at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania and lifetime asset management at the Bruce plant in Canada.

One of three new replacement steam generators has arrived at the port of Dunkerque in northern France ahead of their installation at unit 5 of the nearby Gravelines nuclear power plant. Installation of the original replacement components was delayed from 2016 after discrepancies were found in their manufacturing files.

An agreement to jointly participate in overseas nuclear digital instrumentation and control projects has recently been signed between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. Both companies were involved in the development of the Korean Digital I&C system.

Norway's Institute for Energy Technology has delayed the restart of the JEEP-II research reactor at Kjeller after corrosion was discovered on several components during a maintenance outage. The reactor will require "extensive and costly" repairs if it is to be restarted.

All of the USA's 98 operating commercial reactors were in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's two highest performance categories for 2018. Entergy's Pilgrim plant has returned to the highest operating level.

EDF in 2018 achieved all its financial objectives and exceeded the targets of its performance plan, company chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy announced last week. Its performance would be "amplified" in 2019, he said during the presentation of its results.