Unit 3 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province today attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time. The Russian-supplied VVER-1000 is scheduled to enter commercial operation next year.

Entergy Corporation has reversed its December 2016 decision to close the Palisades nuclear power plant in 2018, the company announced yesterday. The Michigan plant will now operate under an existing power purchase agreement with Consumers Energy until the spring of 2022.

A new nuclear training centre has been inaugurated by Trihom, a training organisation jointly owned by New Areva and Engie's industrial maintenance subsidiary Endel. The new centre - in Equeurdreville-Hainneville, Normandy - is the largest nuclear training centre in France.

Unit 4 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has completed commissioning tests and now meets the conditions for entering commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation announced today.

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract with Ukrainian national nuclear generator Energoatom to supply monitoring instrumentation systems to the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant, as part of a long-term safety upgrade program.

Some 200,000 job-years of employment are created by each 1000 MWe of nuclear capacity constructed, according to a new study by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

UPDATED: Two nuclear units at St Lucie were able to continue operating as Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. One unit at Turkey Point was shut down as a precaution in advance of the storm as nuclear operators and regulators put storm preparation procedures into action, while the other shut down automatically because of a valve-related issue. 

 

Atomenergoprom, the holding company of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has today reported consolidated net profit of RUB40.7 billion ($700 million) for the first half of 2017. This is an 89% increase on the same period of 2016 when it recorded net profit of RUB21.5 billion.

Both units at the South Texas Project (STP) continued to operate at full power throughout Hurricane Harvey. Whilst the plant avoided the full force of the hurricane, its steel-reinforced containment building and flood protection measures ensured the reactors could continue operating safely.

Japan's nuclear regulator today approved the 'construction plans' for strengthening Ohi units 3 and 4 and Genkai unit 3. The plans are the second of three applications required during the restart process. The units must undergo further inspections before being permitted to restart.

Low-cost abundant natural gas and the growth of renewable energy are accelerating the premature retirement of baseload power plants, particularly coal and nuclear ones, says a report from the US Department of Energy. This, it suggests, is putting the resilience of the USA's electricity grid at risk.

Fuel loading has begun at unit 3 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province, Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has announced. The Russian-supplied VVER-1000 is scheduled to enter commercial operation next year.