The UK, as host of the next round of UN climate talks, must take the opportunity to show how nuclear energy is essential to decarbonisation, Tim Stone, chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association, said at a Westminster Energy Forum conference last week. "In fact, I would go as far as to say: No nuclear? No net zero."

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has announced a further CAD20 million (USD16 million) of funding towards the next phase of small modular reactor development in the province. The province is partnering with ARC Clean Energy Canada Inc, which is developing the ARC-100 advanced SMR.

Brookfield Business Partners is considering whether to sell Westinghouse Electric Company, the investment company's CEO, Cyrus Madon, said in a conference call with analysts on 5 February to discuss its fourth-quarter financial results. Bermuda-headquartered Brookfield completed its purchase of Westinghouse from Japan's Toshiba Corporation in August 2018. This marked Westinghouse's exit from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a restructured company.

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has launched an initiative together with Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment and the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation to collaborate on issues of common interest related to innovative nuclear financing. The initiative began with a technical workshop on 14-15 January, which brought together experts from the public, private and academic sectors to discuss a number of fundamental issues pertaining to the financing of nuclear new build.

The UK government must continue to support nuclear power generation if the country is to meet an expected doubling of electricity demand by 2050 while meeting its Net Zero ambitions, according to a new report from the Centre for Policy Studies. The think tank recommends the government explore innovative financing methods for the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Access to affordable, technology-neutral financing is essential if energy-poor countries are to enjoy the benefits of nuclear power in the way the Western world already does, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum today. The following is her statement to the panel titled Delivering energy access in the developing world.

The challenges the nuclear industry faces are largely external and must be overcome if it is to help tackle the existential threat of climate change, panellists in the Nuclear Energy and its Future session of the Reuters Next conference on 11 January said. These challenges include: the notion nuclear is an out-dated technology; the cost of finance; market design; political changes; perceived competition with renewable energy; and the public's misconceptions about radioactive waste.

UK Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said he looks forward to “a year of delivery” in 2021, following the publication of the Energy White Paper on 14 December. In an interview with Chris Lambert, director of the Westminster Energy Forum, Kwarteng explained some of the ministerial thinking behind the White Paper and provided further background on the government’s strategy for reaching net-zero by 2050.

A Brussels-based alliance of NGOs, weCARE, has written to the European Commission, Parliament and Council to urge "a more favourable evaluation at EU level" of nuclear energy for a larger projected share in the future very low-carbon energy mix, in combination with renewable sources, "thereby avoiding a gas lock-in effect".

Italy's Enel has announced that its subsidiary Enel Produzione and the Czech company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding have agreed to a provide additional loans for the completion of Mochovce 3 and 4 in the Slovak Republic, and altered the terms for EPH to eventually buy out Enel's stake in Slovenské elektrárne. They and EP Slovakia BV have signed a new agreement that modifies some of the terms and conditions of the 2015 contract concerning the sale of the stake held by Enel Produzione in the Slovak utility.

The European Commission aims to be a model for promoting sustainable development, building on its demonstrated success in being a low-carbon region among developed countries, but the EU Taxonomy could damage that ambition, writes Philippe Costes, senior adviser at World Nuclear Association.

Shareholders in Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj have signed an additional shareholder loan commitment for EUR400 million (USD490 million). With the new shareholder loan commitment, TVO said it prepares to maintain a sufficient liquidity buffer and equity ratio in order to complete the Olkiluoto 3 EPR project.