The National: The UAE will commission its first nuclear power station in September.
’It’s going to be a very long summer,’ says an executive of one of the companies short-listed for a contract to build the UAE’s first nuclear reactors. The massive contract, due to be awarded on Sept 16, is described as one of the biggest opportunities in the global nuclear market, as it is likely to be the first in a series to build a fleet of reactors worth tens of billions of dollars over the next two decades. A tight three-way race has emerged among consortiums of firms from four countries. The bidding process is confidential, but industry sources say Korea Electric Power Company is heading one group of bidders, while the French have submitted a bid through an influential combination of Areva, GDF Suez, Total and Électricité de France. Sources declined to discuss the composition of the third consortium, a combination of a US and a Japanese firm, but MEED, a London-based business publication, reported earlier this month that it is a partnership of General Electric and Hitachi. The other possible Japanese-US combinations include Toshiba with GE technology, and Mitsubishi with Westinghouse technology.’

The Nuclear N-Former: China to accelerate nuclear power development
’China’s nuclear power capacity is expected to reach about 5 percent of the country’s total power capacity by 2020, according to National Energy Administration (NEA) here Monday at a press conference. The target is higher than the original one set in 2007, which aimed for a nuclear power capacity of 40 million kw by 2020, taking up 4 percent of the total power capacity, reports Xinhua news agency. NEA deputy head Sun Qin said that with a power capacity of 800 million kw at present and an estimated 1.4 billion kw to 1.5 billion kw by 2020, it is time to adjust the goal to match China’s fast energy development. Sun said no final plan has been created yet to meet the goal as it needs more work before it is reported to the State Council.’

The Nuclear N-Former: India in discussions with Westinghouse regarding AP1000
’Westinghouse Electric Company will begin discussions with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., (NPCIL) on the deployment of its AP1000 nuclear power plants in the country, it said 28 May. The announcement followed signing of a memorandum of understanding by Dr. S. K. Jain, chairman and managing director of NPCIL, and Westinghouse president and CEO Aris S. Candris. In making the announcement, Candris said it is logical for the two companies to work together to further expand India’s already robust nuclear power industry. “NPCIL is India’s nuclear power plant company, with the broadest range of expertise encompassing design, engineering, construction, commissioning and operation,” he said. “We look forward to bringing our AP1000 nuclear technology to India through such an experienced and well-respected organization as NPCIL.’

Reuters: Vattenfall's UK plans on hold due to downturn
’STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Vattenfall VATN.UL, the Nordic region's biggest utility, has put a decision on investing in new nuclear plants in Britain on hold for a year due to the global downturn, the company's top executive said on Monday. Vattenfall Chief Executive Lars Josefsson told the Reuters Energy Summit the recession and sharp fall in energy prices had left investment decisions related to Britain's plans to let private companies build new plants more uncertain. "So, for that reason we have actually decided for the next year or so that we are not going to make any decisions on investments, but we will continue following the process," Josefsson said. Vattenfall said earlier this year it was in talks with other utilities on building one or two nuclear plants in Britain where the government wants private companies to build enough new plants to replace the country's old state-built reactors.’

CBCnews.ca: Kazakhstan accuses key official over uranium deals
’ASTANA/ALMATY, June 1 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan accused the former head of its state uranium firm on Monday of pocketing resources of the nuclear fuel worth billions of dollars, by transferring them to foreign companies he controlled. The KNB security service arrested the Kazatomprom chief, Mukhtar Dzhakishev, last month along with other officials, accusing them of illegal uranium deals. Dzhakishev, 45, has not publicly commented on the case. The KNB has said he is denying any wrongdoing. In a separate statement, the successor service to the Soviet-era KGB said Dzhakishev, who was sacked from his position shortly before his arrest in May, had used offshore firms to effectively take over some of the most lucrative uranium fields. Addressing reporters in the Kazakh financial capital Almaty, relatives of those arrested accused the authorities of holding their family members in secret locations without access to independent lawyers.’

Times of India: Pak exchanged N-tech for N Korean long range missiles: US
’WASHINGTON: North Korea received designs for uranium enrichment centrifuges from Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan in return for its long-range missiles, a Congressional report has told US lawmakers. "Hwang Jang-yop, a Communist Party secretary who defected in 1997, has stated that North Korea and Pakistan agreed in the summer of 1996 to trade North Korean long-range missile technology for Pakistani HEU (highly enriched uranium) technology," the report on North Korean nuclear weapons programme has said.’

Lancaster Online: Transport of huge generators will disrupt county
’If you want to snap a photo of two of the largest objects ever to move across the Lancaster County landscape later this summer, don't worry, they will be creeping by at a tortoise-like 2 or 3 miles per hour. Two steam generators, each weighing about the same as two locomotives, will be pulled by the same kind of self-propelled transport that moves the space shuttle to the blastoff pad. As they navigate the length of the county in August or September en route to the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, there will be a whole lot of commotion in front of the oversized loads. The generators are being manufactured by AREVA Inc., the world's largest nuclear plant supplier, in Paris, France. From there, they will be shipped across the Atlantic and make their way by barge up the Chesapeake Bay. They will be unloaded from the Susquehanna River in Port Deposit, Md., and placed on Self-Propelled Mobile Transports.’

World Nuclear News: Nuclear component orders bolster JSW results
’Japan Steel Works (JSW) reported records sales and profit in the year to 31 March, which it attributed in part to the steady growth of its nuclear department. The company produces large forgings for reactor pressure vessels, steam generators and turbine shafts. The company said that consolidated sales for the year totalled ¥227.1 billion ($2.4 billion), while consolidated profits stood at ¥35.9 billion ($376 million). Sales in JSW's electric and nuclear power division increased 16.6% from the previous year to ¥36.5 billion ($383 million), of which about one-third was made up of large-size nuclear components for primary systems. The company said that orders received during the year by its electric and nuclear power division were substantially higher than had been forecast, at ¥59.9 billion ($628 million), a 40.3% increase from the previous year. JSW said that this was a result of the accelerated placing of anticipated orders, as well as unexpected orders.’