Five sites - one in Scotland and four in England - have been shortlisted to host the UK's prototype fusion energy plant - the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production. The site of the demonstration plant, due to begin operating by 2040, is expected to be announced at the end of next year.

France's EDF has made an offer to the Polish government to build as many as six EPR units. A project of that size would decarbonise 40% of the country's electricity and avoid up to 55 million tons of CO2 per year, EDF said. The "non-binding preliminary offer" represents a range of options for Poland. It details the engineering, procurement and construction that would be needed for four to six EPR units, at either two or three sites. The EPR units would produce 1650 MWe each.

The global nuclear industry and governments must work together to make it easier for those countries wishing to launch nuclear energy programmes in order to decarbonise their energy system, writes Milton Caplan, president of MZConsulting Inc and chair of the World Nuclear Association Economics Working Group.

Nuclear power was at the heart of French President Emmanuel Macron's France 2030 plan for re-industrialisation, announced yesterday. The plan includes a programme to demonstrate small reactor technology and mass production of hydrogen using nuclear electricity in this decade.

Nuclear power is the required energy source for development of the Russian gold deposit at Kyuchus, the country's minister of natural resources and the environment, Alexander Kozlov made clear as the deposit's development rights were auctioned. The small reactor planned for Ust-Kuyga will supply the mine.

Bangladesh wants to build another nuclear power plant after its first one is completed, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday as work at the Rooppur plant reached a critical milestone. "If we are able to build another nuclear power plant, we will no longer face a power crisis," she said after inaugurating the installation of the reactor pressure vessel at Rooppur 1. Hasina's words were reported by the country's official news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha after a briefing from her press secretary Ihsanul Karim on a meeting with Rosatom head Alexey Likhachov.

The UK government has announced plans to decarbonise the country's power system by 2035, instead of the previous target of 2050. The plan focuses on building a secure, home-grown energy sector - including nuclear energy - that reduces reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global wholesale energy prices.

Armenia is preparing to launch a joint development in which a new nuclear power plant will support an expansion of copper mining in a collaboration between the country and Russian billionaire businessman Roman Trotsenko. The plan taking shape involves developing the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, which has recently been taken over by Trotsenko's GeoProMining and shared with the Armenian state.

The Romanian government has adopted an integrated energy plan that calls for two new CANDU reactors at Cernavoda by 2031 and the refurbishment of an existing unit there in 2037. It would double the country's nuclear power supply in a decade.

The UK government is in discussions regarding proposals for a new nuclear power plant at Wylfa on Anglesey, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on 2 October in an interview with BBC Wales. He said previous governments in the country "have refused to take the tough decisions on nuclear for too long." Meanwhile, EDF Energy has called for the government to make prompt decisions regarding the Sizewell C project.

Licensing of the planned Paks II nuclear power plant has been delayed, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has announced. The organisation said it needs more time "to fully verify all requirements," but did not give an updated timeline for approval to construct the new reactors.

Representatives of the main political parties running in the forthcoming Czech parliamentary elections agreed the country needs nuclear energy in its future energy mix, Tomáš Kovalovský, chairman of the Czech Nuclear Association, and Tomáš Měřínský, chairman of Sekurkon, write in an overview of the Nuclear Power - New Nuclear Builds conference, held on 23 September in Prague.