COVID-19-induced reductions in electricity pricing and energy demand from the shuttered US economy could be especially problematic for merchant baseload generators including nuclear, according to an assessment by the Brattle Group. Electricity loads across most of the USA fell during February and March, but less than half of this decline is likely attributable to COVID-19, the report finds.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is launching a three-year Coordinated Research Project focused on the economics of small modular reactors (SMRs). The project will provide Member States with an economic appraisal framework for the development and deployment of such reactors.

Foratom, the European nuclear trade body, has welcomed the ambitions outlined in the European Commission's Industrial Strategy, which was published yesterday. The strategy is part of European Commission President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen's political guidelines and responds to a request from the European Council in March 2019.

The UK's Nuclear Industry Association has called on the government to produce a financing mechanism that supports investment in new build projects. The government announced in June 2018 that it would review the viability of a Regulated Asset Base model, but it has yet to respond to a public consultation on the Treasury's proposal that took place last year.

Engineering firm Atkins has published a new report detailing the investment in low-carbon energy needed for the UK to achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2050. The report - titled Engineering Net Zero - calls for the government to significantly increase investment in nuclear power.

Nuclear has a place in Europe's energy mix, but rising costs - even if only perceived - need to be addressed to ensure future growth, speakers agreed at the New Nuclear Watch Institute's first annual forum, held in London yesterday.

EDF Energy announced today that the projected cost of its Hinkley Point C project has increased by up to GBP2.9 billion (USD3.6 billion) compared to the previous estimate. Both the utility and the UK government stressed that, under the terms of the contract-for-difference, there is no impact from the increase for UK consumers or taxpayers.

Policymakers need to understand that the system costs of variable renewable energy necessitate the inclusion of nuclear and hydro as the primary dispatchable low-carbon generation options within a clean electricity mix. Representatives of the International Energy Agency and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency told delegates at World Nuclear Association Symposium 2019 in London last week that the issue of system costs was no longer a novelty, but an increasingly important topic in the fight against climate change.