Sama Bilbao y Leon of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency describes how resilience - the capacity to withstand and bounce back from major disruptions - takes many forms at nuclear power plants. The following is an abridged version of the presentation she gave during the webinar the Paris-based organisation held today to discuss its newly published Policy Brief, Building low-carbon resilient electricity infrastructures with nuclear energy in the post-COVID-19 era.

Using the regulated asset base model has the potential for cost-overrun that can be somewhat addressed through the 'alliance' model, that is, a model based on one unified agreement under which all parties share the benefits and risks, write Vincent Zabielski and Elina Teplinsky, respectively, special counsel and partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Foratom, the European nuclear trade body, has welcomed the European Commission's decision to appoint its Joint Research Centre as the group of experts that will assess nuclear under the sustainable finance taxonomy. However, the JRC will not submit its findings until next year, after the relevant acts have already been finalised.

Building new nuclear capacity does not need to be risky or expensive, a new report from the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has found. The organisation has called for government action to support a rapid reduction in the costs of new nuclear capacity by creating policy frameworks that capture and apply the lessons learned and capabilities developed over recent years.

If the European Commission is serious about its efforts to support the post-virus economic recovery and to achieving a clean energy transition, then it will correct the omission of nuclear energy in its Green Deal package and in the EU Taxonomy, Czech and Polish ministers have written in letters to Frans Timmermans and Kadri Simons, respectively the first vice president of the European Commission and the European commissioner for energy.

Plans for a clean economic recovery and the goal of 'Net Zero by 2050' need commitment to new nuclear power plants, the UK’'s Nuclear Industry Association said today. Ahead of the Climate Change Committee's annual progress update due this week, the NIA has released Forty by ’50: A Nuclear Roadmap, an assessment produced for the government and industry body, the Nuclear Industry Council.

Investing in existing nuclear power plants, new nuclear build and supporting innovation in small modular reactors are among measures set out to support a broad range of clean energy technologies in an energy-focused COVID-19 economic recovery plan released today by the International Energy Agency. Its emphasis for nuclear investment, however, is on existing plants rather than new power units.

Nuclear power will give Poland energy security, keep its rapid industrialisation cost-competitive and help it to achieve climate neutrality, Minister of Climate Michał Kurtyka said during a Nuclear Energy Agency WebChat this week. In conversation with NEA Director General William Magwood, Kurtyka said Poland had long-coveted nuclear power and was looking forward to the many benefits it offers as the country plans a clean energy future.

In the early stages of the nuclear power industry, some oil & gas majors entered the uranium industry, but their interest in nuclear power projects is rare, with Total's bid for the Barakah project in 2009 one of the few recent examples. Are these instances historical footnotes, or might there be a role for OGMs in the nuclear power industry today, even considering the current pandemic and overall market conditions, write Amjad Ghori, Melissa Hersh, Edward Kee, Paul Murphy and Xavier Rollat.

The US International Development Finance Corporation has proposed policy changes that would remove a prohibition on it providing support for nuclear power projects. This would enable the DFC to offer financing for projects to deploy technologies such as small modular reactors in developing countries.
 

Brazil's Investment Partnership Programme council has approved a plan to complete unit 3 of the Angra nuclear power plant. Created by the government to expand and strengthen the relationship between the state and the private sector, the PPI's main objective is to generate jobs and growth for the country through new investments in infrastructure projects and privatisation.

The UK's nuclear industry has demonstrated its flexibility and inherent safety culture during the COVID-19 crisis, and ought to be given a key role in the country's low-carbon economic recovery, World Nuclear Association said in interviews with the BBC this week.