A $1.3 billion contract to manage and operate the US Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for up to ten years has been awarded to Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC.

A wholesale electricity supplier in Mississippi is in discussions with Santee Cooper about buying a share of the output from the two reactors under construction at the VC Summer plant in South Carolina. South Mississippi Electric Power Association is also considering buying a portion of Santee Cooper's 45% ownership interest in the new units.

The partners in a joint venture to bring back uranium mining in Spain have entered an arbitration process that could result in the payment of over $200 million in damages from Enusa to Berkeley Resources. The Salamanca 1 project is unaffected and was said to remain on course for construction in 2013.

Responsibility for the decommissioning, demolition and clean-up of the UK's Dounreay nuclear site has passed to the Babcock Dounreay Partnership consortium, which has now taken over ownership of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.

The contractual framework for the construction of Europe's first advanced boiling water reactor has been laid down in an agreement signed by the Lithuanian government and strategic investor Hitachi.

South Carolina Electric & Gas has signed a preliminary agreement with Westinghouse and the Shaw Group to settle a dispute over early cost overruns for the construction of two AP1000 units at its VC Summer plant. A delay in receiving a licence for the units has led to a rescheduling of their completion dates.

While the bidding process for construction of a fourth reactor at Finland's Olkiluoto site has been launched, the country needs to invest in the future workforce for nuclear industry and regulation.

A $200 million contract awarded to a partnership led by EnergySolutions will see the removal of all above-ground transuranic wastes from the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico by June 2014.

While the deadline for the signing of the project agreement for Bulgaria's planned Belene nuclear power plant approaches, the government continues to seek partners to help finance the project. Russia's AtomStroyExport warned that it will stop work on the project unless the agreement is signed.

A new major player has joined the US energy market after the merger of Exelon and Constellation received its final regulatory go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

DTE Energy has signed a contract with L-3 MAPPS for an upgrade of the simulator at unit 2 of its Fermi nuclear power plant in Michigan. In addition, a new simulator for emergency diesel generator operations will be installed at the plant.

Russia has offered Jordan a deal under which it will construct four nuclear power reactors. The proposal - similar to that offered to Turkey - is separate to the tender to supply the country's first power reactor, the winner of which is set to be selected by the end of this month.