The loading of 'dummy' fuel assemblies began yesterday at unit 2 of the new nuclear power plant in Ostrovets, Belarus. "This process is a prerequisite and, in a way, a dress rehearsal for the loading of nuclear fuel into the reactor," Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group has approved the preliminary report on a peer review of the new Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets. Adopted by consensus on 3 March, the report follows a mission by Ensreg technical experts to the plant site on 9 and 10 February.

Brazil's Eletronuclear published a notice in the country's official journal, Diário Oficial da União, on 25 February inviting bids for a contract to conduct civil work at unit 3 of its Angra nuclear power plant, and to perform part of the electromechanical assembly. Eletronuclear said the aim of the tender is "to advance some construction activities" before hiring a contractor to complete the construction of the unit.

Unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in western Russia has entered the final stage of pilot operation - a 15-day programme of tests at nominal capacity. On successful completion of these tests, the VVER-1200 unit will be stopped for inspection of its equipment and, following regulatory approval, will then be put into industrial operation, which is scheduled for this spring.

Cosmin Ghită, CEO of Romanian utility Nuclearelectrica, says a final investment decision for the Cernavoda nuclear power plant expansion project is expected in 2024, with commissioning of unit 3 planned within the next 10 years. According to Agerpres, Ghită told a conference on 23 February that Nuclearelectrica will present a proposal to start the project at its next annual general meeting of shareholders.

Ukraine's electricity grid needs the construction of new nuclear power units, Yuriy Boyko, the country's deputy energy minister said last week. Speaking to delegates at Atomic Energy: The Future of the Industry on 17 February, Boyko described the importance of at least three new units. Nuclear power plant operator Energoatom published  Boyko's comments on its website.

The China Experimental Fast Reactor has been restarted and reconnected to the grid, marking its entry into its high-power operation phase. The sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor began a refuelling and maintenance outage at the end of July last year, having completed commissioning tests for the power test phase of the reactor, which verified that its performance had met the design requirements under stable conditions and expected transient operating conditions.

Siberian Chemical Combine has signed a contract with CKBM for the manufacture and supply of equipment for the refuelling of the BREST-OD-300 fast reactor demonstration plant. The production, supply and installation supervision of steam generators for the reactor facility will be provided by ZiO-Podolsk Machine-Building Plant. Both CKBM and ZiO-Podolsk are part of the machine-building division of Russia's Rosatom.

NuScale Power of the USA and Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant - New Build Plc have agreed to evaluate the suitability of NuScale's small modular reactor technology for deployment at the existing Kozloduy nuclear power plant site in Bulgaria. KNPP-NB is a public limited company established to commission new nuclear power capacity at the site.

Uniper Sweden, LeadCold and the Royal Institute of Technology are collaborating to explore the possibility of constructing a demonstration LeadCold SEALER lead-cooled small modular reactor at Sweden's Oskarshamn plant site by 2030. The partners have also applied for funding towards building a non-nuclear prototype at Oskarshamn for testing and verifying materials and technology.

Russia's Atommash has begun the manufacture of major components for the first of two VVER-1200 reactors to be constructed at the Xudabao site in China's Liaoning province. Construction of Xudabao units 3 and 4 is expected to begin this year and next, respectively.

Rolls-Royce has almost completed the feasibility stage in the development of its UK small modular reactor and in May will focus on securing investment, its chief technology officer, Paul Stein, said yesterday. The technology will undergo the Generic Design Assessment process with UK regulators in 2024 and will be ready for grid use five years later, he said.