We round up the past week’s news and updates from the world of Nuclear.
Estonia to assess adoption of nuclear energy, by World Nuclear News: “The Estonian government yesterday formally approved the formation of a nuclear energy working group (NEPIO) tasked with analysing the possibility of introducing nuclear energy in Estonia. Headed by Environment Minister Tõnis Mölder, the NEPIO will present its conclusions and proposals to the government by September 2022 at the latest.”
Iran says key Natanz nuclear facility hit by ‘sabotage’, by BBC News: “A nuclear facility in Iran was hit by “sabotage” a day after it unveiled new uranium enrichment equipment, the country’s top nuclear official says.
Ali Akbar Salehi did not say who was to blame for the “terrorist act”, which caused a power failure at the Natanz complex south of Tehran on Sunday.”
How Bill Gates’ company TerraPower is building next-generation nuclear power, by CNBC: “Selected by the U.S. federal government to demonstrate the viability of nuclear power through its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), TerraPower aims to build “fully functional advanced nuclear reactor within 7 years of the award,” according to the Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Will Nuclear Energy’s No-Carbon Quality Outweigh The Fukushima Accident?, by Forbes: “Safety is always the paramount concern. Now, though, the focus is shifting to low-carbon investments. And the Biden Administration reasons that advanced nuclear energy plants have added safety features and increased efficiencies. Greater investment and favorable policies are thus worthwhile. That is especially true if demand rises because the transportation sector and the home heating industry use more electricity instead of oil and natural gas. As such, President Biden has his eye on enacting policies to ensure that most electricity is produced using sustainable and low-carbon sources, referred to as the Clean Energy Standard.”
The World Is One Step Closer To Commercial Nuclear Fusion, by OilPrice.com: “If all goes according to plan, DIII-D, the largest nuclear fusion research facility in the U.S., would be the very first fusion power plant in history to create more energy through fusion than was consumed in the fusion process itself. It’s hard to overstate how important this breakthrough would be, and what a giant leap forward it represents. Currently, the best ratio of energy production achieved by any extant nuclear fusion plant is just 67% of the amount of energy consumed.”
