The UK has signed a cooperation agreement with NuGen, a joint venture between Japan’s Toshiba and France’s GDF Suez, for a finance scheme for the 3.6GW nuclear power station at Moorside, West Cumbria.

The agreement opens access to the UK Guarantee Scheme, which was introduced in 2012 to boost infrastructure projects in the country.

The UK and NuGen will now work together to evaluate how the scheme can bring in external finance for the plant.

The facility is due to be the largest new nuclear development in Europe, with capacity to power up to six million homes.

Three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors will be set up under the project, which will offer combined power supply of 3.4GW by 2026.

The first among the three reactors is likely to be connected to the grid by the end of 2024, according to Nugen.

The project is yet to clear necessary licences and permissions for its development.

Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project is likely to be taken in 2018.

NuGen chief executive Sandy Rupprecht said: “The signing of this co-operation agreement with HM Treasury is another demonstration of NuGen’s forward momentum as we power forward with our Moorside project in West Cumbria.”

Earlier this year, UK Energy Minister Michael Fallon stated that the project will attract £10bn of investment and create almost 21,000 job opportunities, reports BBC News.

Turkey intends to construct a third nuclear power plant by 2018-2019 as a national project, announced Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The plant will be built by Turkish experts Davutoglu said on Tuesday, following a meeting on the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, reports World Bulletin.

Currently, Turkey has two ongoing nuclear power projects.

The first nuclear plant Akkuyu Nuclear will be built by Russia’s Rosatom in the Mediterranean region of the country, Mersin.

Earlier this month, Turkey said that it plans to speed up the process to begin the construction of its first nuclear power plant.

This was announced by Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Following a meeting with Russian nuclear company Rosatom’s head Sergey Kiriyenko, the minister revealed: “Our target is to speed up the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.”

The agreement on this project was signed between the governments of Russia and Turkey in Ankara in May 2010.

The plant construction is likely to begin in 2016 once the environmental assessment report is submitted. It is set to go online by 2020.

The plant will have four reactors for power generation.

The second plant will be constructed through a cooperation with Japan.

This plant will be constructed in Sinop, in the Black Sea region of the country.

The deal for the second project is based on a build-operate-transfer basis.

The second nuclear plant will be built based on an agreement signed between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in May 2013.

Lockheed Martin has announced that it is working on a compact fusion reactor (CFR), which would be small enough to fit on the back of a truck, and could be ready for use within a decade.

The CFR is a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors.

Presently, several patents are pending on their approach.

The fusion in itself is not new, but Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has improved on more than six decades of fusion research and investment to create an approach that could provide a huge reduction in size against other mainstream initiatives.

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works revolutionary technology programmes compact fusion lead Tom McGuire said: “Our compact fusion concept combines several alternative magnetic confinement approaches, taking the best parts of each, and offers a 90% size reduction over previous concepts.

The team will conduct multiple design-build-test cycles and expects to come up with a prototype in five years.

Following initial work, the technology has shown feasibility of building a 100MW reactor measuring 7ft by 10ft.

This reactor being around ten times smaller than current reactors could fit on the back of a large truck, Reuters reported McGuire as saying.

Skunk Works has been working on this project for about four years, but now is looking out for partners to carry its work forward.

Lockheed expects 40% to 50% rise in energy consumption over the next generation.

Over the last few years, Lockheed has been involved in several alternate energy projects, including ocean energy projects.

Turkey’s second nuclear power plant, to be developed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHE) and Itochu Corporation in co-ordination with France’s GDF Suez, is expected to be operational by 2023.

The Turkish Government had given approval to the consortium earlier this year, in May.

The 4,800MW nuclear plant, located in the Black Sea coastal city of Sinop, is expected to cost $22bn.

Atmea1 reactors developed by MHE and French energy firm Areva will be installed at the facility, reportsReuters.

MHE Energy & Environment VP Terumasa Onaka told Reuters that the Turkish Parliament will approve the country’s agreement with Japan, which had been signed in 2013.

The construction of the facility is expected to start between 2017-18 after the feasibility study and the licensing process, Onaka informed.

Turkey is expected to have a 50% stake in the project while remaining equity is likely to be shared between the three firms.

Turkey will also start construction of its first planned nuclear plant by next spring, reports the Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said: “We want to break ground for the Akkuyu nuclear plant in March or April.”

Located near Akkuyu in the southern province of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast, the $22bn plant will be built and operated by Russian nuclear power producer Rosatom.

Japan will also bid for the construction of another power plant in Turkey, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

Russia has provided a credit of $10bn to Belarus for the construction of a nuclear power plant.

According to the Russia’s legal information portal, “The Russian side will provide the Belorussian side a state export credit of up to $10bn to finance the cost of every contract … on supply of goods, works done and services delivered … by a Russian organisation responsible for the construction of two energetic blocks [nuclear reactors] in Belarus.”

In July 2012, Atomstroyexport, a unit of Rosatom, inked a deal with Belarus for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant in Ostrovets, close to the Lithuanian border, reports RIA Novosti.

This facility will comprise two nuclear reactors, with the first reactor scheduled to be ready by 2017 and the second by 2018.

Each of the two reactors will have a capacity of 1,200MW, which will help boost the Belarusian energy capacity to 8,000MW, reports the publication.

In May 2012, the two countries signed a contract for the construction of the plant.

Moscow had then agreed to invest $204m at the early phase of the construction.

Although Belarus had begun preparing for the construction of the plant in the 1980s, the plan had to be stalled due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 in Ukraine.

Concerns over the project once again cropped up following the disaster at Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan in 2011.

Russia will provide advanced technology to help Belarus to have accident-free operations at the nuclear power plant.

Austria plans to sue the European Commission if it gives clearance to the £16bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in the UK.

Almost 25% of the EU policymakers oppose the deal to pay a guaranteed price of £92.50 per megawatt hour for the power produced in the plant to EDF and its partners for 35 years once the first reactor goes on line.

This price is almost two times the existing wholesale power price.

A vote on this issue is expected on Wednesday.

The project, to be built by French utility EDF at Hinkley Point, will enable the UK to shift away from coal-fired plants to nuclear plants for power generation in order to avoid future power shortages as old facilities are retired.

In a letter to the European Commission’s president Jose Manuel Barroso, Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann and vice-chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner stated that Austria would resort to legal action if the project is given an official approval by the Brussels.

Reuters reported Faymann as saying: “Should the EU Commission undertake this step, then it must expect a lawsuit at the highest court.

Mitterlehner said: “Hinkley Point … would set a negative precedence to open this type of subsidy for nuclear energy. The EU-Commission must prevent this, if not, it must expect a lawsuit from Austria at the European Court of Justice.”

Image: The Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Photo: courtesy of Richard Baker.

The UK has received the support of European Union regulators for its proposed £16bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, following the end of a nine-month EU-state aided probe.

The backing comes as a huge boost for the nuclear industry, which has been facing high costs and safety concerns in western Europe following Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, reports The Wall Street Journal.

French nuclear firm Électricité de France, which plans to construct new two reactors at Hinkley Point in south-west England, has welcomed the EU’s decision and termed it as “another positive step forward” for the project.

The approval from the EU also serves as a huge boost for the UK, which intends to shift away from coal-fired plants to nuclear plants for power generation in order to avoid future power shortages as old facilities are retired.

The EU approval would mean that the UK Government can provide an electricity price guarantee of £92.50 per megawatt hour to EDF and its partners for 35 years once the first reactor goes on line.

This price is almost two times the existing wholesale power price.

Last year, the UK Government and EDF arrived at an agreement on the electricity price.

Even though electricity consumers would ultimately pay this guaranteed electricity price, the UK still had to get EU sanction under “state aid” rules as this pricing plan favours one technology over others, which may ultimately impact competition.

The European Commission said that the revised plan is now in line with the EU rules on state support; however, the Commission did not disclose any details of the deal.

The official approval from the European Commission for the funding is likely to be received by the end of October.

Meanwhile, before commencing the project, EDF needs to make the final investment decision on the £16bn project; initially, the firm said that it intends to make its decision in December 2012, reports The Wall State Journal.

Hinkley Point A nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1965 and decommissioned in 2000, while Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1976.

Image: The Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Photo: courtesy of Richard Baker.

EDF Energy said that two nuclear stations, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool, which played a crucial role in providing power to the UK, could remain closed until the end of this year.

The two nuclear power stations were shut in August to allow detailed boiler inspections.

Although EDF Energy said that it expects the two stations to become operational between the end of October and the end of December, it depends on various factors.

Following the discovery of a crack on the boiler spine at Heysham 1, EDF shut down the two plants as both the stations share the same design.

Due to the ongoing problems at Heysham 1 and Hartlepool stations, Centrica, which owns a 20% stake, issued a profit warning.

In order to bring these reactors back into service, EDF Energy claimed that the programme must complete the inspections to verify there are no further defects which could develop into cracks; understand in detail the cause of the crack found on the boiler spine at Heysham 1; develop techniques for modifications to reduce the impact of any defects; and then implement modifications if necessary.

In the coming weeks, the programme team will complete the inspections and work towards the safe operation of the boilers.

EDF claimed that the “safety case” will require approval from Office for Nuclear Regulation.

The shut down of the reactors, which together have an installed capacity of around 2.4GW, comes at a time when part of the 2GW Ferrybridge coal-fired station has been temporarily closed following a fire, reports The Guardian.

Although EDF Energy operates 15 nuclear reactors in the UK, only these two reactors share the same boiler design.

Image: A crack on boiler spine was discovered at Heysham 1 plant, which led to its temporary closure. Photo: courtesy of EDF Energy.

The start date of Finland’s biggest nuclear project Olkiluoto 3 EPR is being pushed to late 2018, which is almost a decade later than the proposed initial timeline.

Areva-Siemens, the consortium constructing the reactor, has said that disagreements with its client Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) over the plant’s instrumentation and control (I&C) system has been the reason for the delay.

The project has been hit by delays several times previously in addition to surging costs and disputes between Areva-Siemens and TVO.

The country aims to achieve energy self-sufficiency once the Olkiluoto 3 project is commissioned.

The 1,600MW plant began construction in 2005 and was to have commenced operations in 2009.

According to the new timelines, the project construction will be completed by the third quarter of 2016 and will commence operations in the last quarter of 2018.

Areva urged the owner of the plant, TVO, to take an active role in the project. TVO said the delay was hard to accept, as much of the project was complete.

TVO’s owners include Finnish paper firms UPM and Stora Enso and utility company Fortum.

Reuters quoted TVO’s project head Jouni Silvennoinen as saying: “The delays are because the planning of the plant has taken needlessly long.

“We haven’t examined the supplier’s detailed schedules yet, but our preliminary view is that we could do better (than 2018).”

TVO has already received a general license to develop Olkiluoto 4; however, the firm has sought a five-year extension to the permit from the government.

Olkiluoto 3’s construction costs were initially estimated to be around €3.2 bn and although TVO has not released the updated figures, it is believed to have increased almost double.

In 2013, Areva-Siemens sought a compensation of €2.7bn; to this, TVO submitted a counter claim of €1.8bn.

The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) arbitration court is looking into the dispute between the two parties on cost overruns.

Image: The construction site of Olkiluoto 3 EPR in Finland. Photo: courtesy of AREVA.

EDF Energy has shut down two reactors, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool, following the discovery of a defect in a boiler unit of Heysham 1 Reactor 1 in Lancashire, UK.

During the Heysham 1 Reactor 1 planned statutory outage in 2013, the company identified an unexpected result during a routine ultrasonic inspection of a boiler spine.

EDF Energy has now decided to close the Heysham 1 Reactor 2 and Hartlepool Reactors 1 and 2, which feature a similar design, in order to conduct further inspections over the next few days and to install equipment to monitor the condition of the boiler spines.

The inspections will satisfy the UK nuclear regulator before the planned return to service of the four reactors.

Each reactor at Heysham 1 and Hartlepool has eight boiler units, which are arranged around their associated reactor in four quadrants, with each quadrant containing two boiler units.

EDF Energy said in a statement: “Subsequent more detailed inspections commenced in June 2014 on the affected boiler spine during an outage on Heysham 1 Reactor 1, and confirmed a defect in the location indicated by the initial findings.”

The Heysham 1 Reactor 1, located on the north-west coast of England near Lancaster, will remain closed while work to characterise the nature of the defect continues.

The investigations are expected to take around two months.