Developing new nuclear technologies requires overcoming considerable financial and regulatory hurdles, as the promise of clean, efficient electricity remains essential to US energy policy, the Nuclear Energy Institute said, following a meeting on 11 December of a House Science Committee.

The South Korean nuclear regulator has given approval for full operation to begin at the first phase of the country's low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility.

The construction and operation of Hitachi-GE's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) in the UK is justified, the country's Energy and Climate Change secretary Ed Davey has announced.

Exelon has applied to the US regulator for a 20-year licence extension for its two-unit La Salle nuclear power plant in Illinois.

The Chinese government is set to resume approvals for the construction of coastal nuclear power plants, having suspended approvals and licensing for all new reactors projects in 2011.

The ACP1000 reactor design has successfully passed the International Atomic Energy Agency's Generic Reactor Safety Review, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.

With a mandate to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) goes to great lengths to ensure that it is being open and transparent in all of its dealings, writes Jason Cameron, vice-president, Regulatory Affairs Branch, CNSC.

Bulgaria's nuclear regulatory agency has issued licences for the decommissioning of units 1 and 2 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning has finally approved the environmental impact assessment report for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project.

Canada's Federal Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging regulatory decisions on the environmental assessment of the planned refurbishment and continued operation of the four-unit Darlington nuclear power station.

The construction licence for the partially-built mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication plant at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been extended by ten years at the request of its builder.

Energy Fuels has completed the transfer of the Piñon Ridge project, including the radioactive materials licence for a proposed uranium mill at the Colorado site, to a private investor group.