The UK's Nuclear Industry Association has welcomed new official data from the Office for National Statistics which it said shows the "vital contribution nuclear power generation makes to the economy". The statistics, released for the first time and part of the low-carbon and renewable energy data series, show nuclear generation and new build activities contributed £3.5 billion to the economy in 2014, with 15,500 people employed full time.

Amec Foster Wheeler has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation on cooperation in nuclear energy. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce has signed contracts with China National Nuclear Corporation covering technical training.

EDF Energy has inaugurated a new 'dry store' for used nuclear fuel that enables continued operation of the Sizewell B nuclear power plant until at least 2035. The plant, which is in Suffolk, accounts for 3% of the UK's total electricity demand.

The UK's nuclear supply chain needs to speak to a wider audience about its achievements and be ready to welcome professionals from other sectors into the new build fold, writes Tom Greatrex.

Figures released today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that electricity generation in the UK fell by half a percent last year to 337.7 TWh, from 338.9 TWh a year earlier. The change reflected a large fall in generation from coal that was offset by increases from renewables and nuclear, according to DECC's Energy Trends report for March 2016.

Some 700 kg of British high-enriched uranium (HEU) will be transported to America in return for a form of the fuel that can be used in research reactors that create isotopes for life-saving diagnosis and treatment.

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation plans to increase its "frontline resources" by 9-10% each year until 2020, according to the Strategic Plan it published last week. This is needed to ensure the ONR can "respond positively" to an increase in regulatory demand from the period of "substantial growth" that the country's nuclear industry is experiencing.

The UK needs new nuclear power and there are projects beyond Hinkley Point C (HPC) that will also ensure the country meets future demand for this affordable, low-carbon baseload source of electricity, a parliamentary committee heard yesterday.

Vincent de Rivaz, the CEO of EDF Energy, said today that the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project will "clearly and categorically" go ahead. Giving evidence to the UK parliament's Energy and Climate Change Committee, de Rivaz confirmed that, according to the French economy minister, the repeatedly postponed final investment decision on the project to build two EPR units at the site in Somerset, England would finally be made "by early May". He would not himself give a specific date and said the decision would be made "very soon".

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have provided an update on their assessment of the two designs currently going through the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process - Hitachi-GE's UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR), and the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design. The update is provided in the regulators' quarterly report - covering November 2015 to January 2016 - which was issued yesterday.

Seven international regulators have enhanced a common position on their expectations when licensing safety critical software for nuclear reactors. This is highlighted in the latest revision of a consensus document, originally published in 2000.

UK legislation aimed at curbing carbon dioxide emissions is likely to have committed the country to a large expansion of nuclear power, according to a new book on nuclear power, writes Stephen Tarlton.