Bloomberg: Mitsubishi Heavy, Luminant to Hold Nuclear Reactor Supply Talks
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Japan's largest heavy-machinery maker, will hold talks with Luminant of the U.S. to supply what it claims will be the world's biggest nuclear reactors. The Tokyo-based manufacturer and Dallas-based Luminant, a unit of Energy Future Holdings Corp. signed a non-binding agreement July 1, along with their Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Co. joint venture, and Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems Inc., the companies said in a joint statement today. Mitsubishi Heavy wants to start marketing its newly- developed 1,700-megawatt nuclear reactors in the U.S. and Europe as governments increase efforts to counter global warming by burning less coal. The company has said it intends to double nuclear plant revenue to 600 billion yen ($6.3 billion) in the next 10 years.

Fox News: State Department: No 'Green Light' for Israel to Attack Iran
Vice President Biden's remarks that Israel can decide for itself whether to strike Iran's nuclear installations was not a "green light" to go for it, a State Department spokesman said Monday. "I certainly would not want to give a green light to any kind of military action," Spokesman Ian Kelly said. "But ... Israel is a sovereign country and we're not going to dictate its actions." Kelly was responding after Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday on that the United States "cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do."

Reuters: E.ON CEO eyes control of 3rd French EPR reactor
PARIS, July 7 (Reuters) - Germany's E.ON staked a claim for control of France's third new-generation nuclear reactor if there was to be one, saying this would help open up a market so far dominated by former monopoly EDF. "A cooperation usually goes well if both partners are at an equal position, and since we are not the smallest utility operator we are not terribly keen to receive just a minority position in such a project," Chief Executive Wulf Bernotat told a press conference. Asked whether he was considering a majority stake in a third EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) project yet to be decided upon by the government, Bernotat said: "That is a possibility or an operatorship... It would be good for the competitive situation in France that a company like E.ON could play a strong role in a 3rd project..."

Times of India: India plans to source nuclear fuel from central Asia, Africa
PUNE: Up against shortage of vital nuclear fuel like uranium for running the nuclear power plants to their optimum capacity, India is looking towards the Central Asian and African countries for sourcing nuclear fuel. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar said, the nuclear power generation in the country is between 55 to 60 per cent of the total installed capacity of 4,100 MW. "This is primarily because of shortage of fuel like uranium," he said. Referring to the target of adding an extra 3,000 MW to the existing installed capacity for nuclear power in the country by end of 2010, Kakodkar said that the AEC plans to meet this objective by sourcing fuel from different countries. "Recently, we got 300 tonnes of uranium from France. We also entered into an agreement with Russia in February 2009 and are expecting 2,000 tonnes of nuclear fuel from this arrangement," Kakodkar said. Next, he added that Central Asian and African countries are being tapped for sourcing nuclear fuel.

Perth Now: Protesters rally against BHP's uranium mine
PROTESTERS have descended on BHP Billiton¿s head office to demand a public inquiry into its $17 billion uranium mine proposed for WA. More than 130 people protested outside BHP's Melbourne office at 10.30am EST today calling for a 30-year-old agreement act governing uranium mining in WA to be overhauled. "The Yeelirrie agreement was ratified in 1978, which means we are working under a legal framework that is over 30 years old," nuclear free campaigner, Dave Sweeney, from the Australia Conservation Council, said. Before the green light will be given for BHP's proposal to go a head the Yeelirrie project will need to be scrutinised under an Environmental Review and Management Plan - the second highest level of assessment. The level of assessment was set by the state's Environment Protection Authority,
which advises the minister on development applications.

NEI: UK regulator responds to Sizewell A leak criticism
The UK nuclear regulator has defended its decision not to prosecute licensee Magnox Electric for a 2007 leak in a water storage tank at the UK's shut down Sizewell A nuclear power station. Had the leak continued to go unnoticed, some spent fuel might have been exposed to the air, risking a potential release of radioactivity. But the regulator argued that even then the fuel would have been sufficiently cooled. It also contends that its regulatory method, a 'direction' was appropriate, and fixed the problem without having to go through the lengthy legal process required in a prosecution. In addition, it has published a formerly classified briefing paper from January 2009 that gives a detailed overview of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate's structure and resources. The paper was released after a freedom of information act application. The document complains that the inspectorate was understaffed at the time of writing, and also in the future, given the expected workload. Since the report was written, the situation has improved due to increased salaries, it said.