Nuclear energy has faced serious challenges in recent years because of several factors: competition from low gas prices, subsidised renewables and slow growth in electricity demand in certain markets. But because of several powerful forces we are seeing signs that this year nuclear energy will come roaring back, writes Jarret Adams.

China will "steadily promote" the development of nuclear power this year, according to a plan released today by the country's National Energy Administration (NEA). The plan calls for five new nuclear power reactors to be brought online in 2018 and construction to be started on a further six to eight units.

Nuclear electricity generation capacity in the Middle East is expected to increase from 3.6 gigawatts this year to 14.1 GWe by 2028 thanks to new construction start-ups and recent agreements between Middle Eastern countries and nuclear vendors, the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday. The United Arab Emirates will lead near-term growth by installing 5.4 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2020, it said.

Russia, Bangladesh and India yesterday signed a memorandum on cooperation in the implementation of the Rooppur nuclear power plant project. Construction of Bangladesh's first nuclear power reactor, Rooppur 1, officially began in late November 2017.

Georgia Power has hired 14 operators for Vogtle 3 and 4 from the abandoned VC Summer nuclear project. In its latest report to the Georgia Public Service Commission, the company said this will save nearly two years of training time and costs.

The US House of Representatives - the lower chamber of Congress - has approved two bills related to nuclear energy research and development. The bills - one for a versatile reactor-based fast neutron source and the other for research into the effects of low-dose radiation - will now pass to the Senate before they can be signed into law by the President.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation has overseen a "political risk insurance contract" for the Central Spent Fuel Storage Facility at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. OPIC, the US government's development finance institution, is providing insurance to support the project trust's $250 million fixed-rate bond securities issuance in US capital markets.

Shine Medical Technologies has completed construction and taken occupancy of Building One at its medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin. Construction of the main production facility is to begin soon.

India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has approved the start of excavation work at Gorakhpur for the construction of two 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors. Construction will start on the first unit in 2019, Minister of State Jitendra Singh told the Indian parliament yesterday.

Russia has today brought unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant to the minimum controllable power level, state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. The assembly of the reactor vessel for the unit, which is in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia, was completed in early January.

Unit 2 of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China's Zhejiang province has successfully completed pre-operational testing, State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation announced yesterday. Sanmen 1 is expected to be the first Westinghouse AP1000 to begin operating later this year, with Sanmen 2 also set to start up in 2018.

Eskom cannot afford to expand its nuclear power capacity, Calib Cassim, acting CFO of the South African utility, said yesterday. Cassim was speaking to reporters during the release of Eskom's financial results for the six months to 30 September 2017.