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Bulgaria's Kozloduy NPP Reduces Power Output Due to Falling Danube River Levels

Bulgaria's Ministry of Energy stated that due to the sustained decline in the Danube River water level, Unit 5 of the Kozloduy NPP will reduce its power output by 120 megawatts starting August 21 to mitigate potential operational risks. The Ministry said in a statement that reducing reactor power is one of the measures to ensure the safe operation of the Kozloduy NPP, citing a sustained, abnormal, and rapid decline in the Danube River water level. The Danube River water level within Bulgaria is currently still on a downward trend. It is noted that this is the first time in the 52 years since the Kozloduy NPP was commissioned that its generating capacity has been reduced for such reasons. The plant uses Danube River water to cool the steam in the condensers of the conventional island, with water intake completed by dedicated pump stations located on the riverbank.

2026-08-21

South Korea Raises 2040 Electricity Demand Forecast, Increment Equivalent to 19 Large Nuclear Power Units

A forum on the formulation of South Korea's 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand was held in Seoul on August 20. The new round of electricity demand forecasts submitted at the meeting showed that by 2040, South Korea's annual maximum electricity demand is expected to reach 158.4 GW to 165.0 GW, an upward revision of 26.6 GW to 26.8 GW compared to the forecast proposed in April this year. Based on the 1.4 GW single-unit capacity of the AP1400 large nuclear power unit under construction in South Korea, the increment in electricity demand from this upward revision is equivalent to the electricity provided by approximately 19 large nuclear power units operating at full power. The previous April forecast for the 2040 annual maximum electricity demand was 131.8 GW to 138.2 GW. The new forecast reflects semiconductor industry clusters...

2026-08-21

Rosatom Continues Construction of New Units at Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev stated that the state atomic energy corporation is continuing construction of new units at Iran's nuclear power plant. In his address to nuclear industry workers and retirees on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Russian nuclear industry, Likhachev said that Rosatom is still building nuclear power plants in Egypt, Hungary, Iran, and India, while also launching new construction projects in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. According to relevant information, the second and third units of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant are being built with Rosatom's participation. The Bushehr plant is one of Iran's key nuclear power projects, and the construction of new units is...

2026-08-21

Russia Plans to Add Approximately 30 GW of Nuclear Power Capacity and Expand Regional Deployment

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a meeting on nuclear energy development that Russia will continue to uphold high standards of nuclear power plant safety and reliability, and plans to add approximately 30 GW of nuclear power capacity, including small modular reactors. Putin said the new capacity will not only replace units approaching the end of their service life, but also significantly increase Russia's total nuclear power generation capacity. Russia also plans to expand the geographical deployment of nuclear power units, building a new generation of nuclear power plants in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East to provide affordable clean electricity to these regions. He also noted that Russia will strengthen...

2026-08-21

Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Unit 4 500kV Reverse Power Transmission Successfully Completed

On August 19, 2026, the 500kV reverse power transmission of Unit 4 of the Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Phase II Project was successfully completed, marking another major milestone in the engineering construction of the unit. The 500kV reverse power transmission operation lasted approximately 15 hours. Throughout the power receiving process, equipment operated stably, all parameter indicators were excellent, protection devices acted accurately without error, and system live switching proceeded smoothly, fully achieving the established goal of successful power reception on the first attempt. The realization of this milestone fully verified that the design, manufacturing, and installation quality of the 500kV main switchyard, main transformers, high-voltage auxiliary transformers, and related auxiliary systems of Unit 4 all met the required standards. The Hainan Project Department of CNNC Engineering coordinated design, procurement, construction,...

2026-08-21

Construction of the conventional island raft foundation slab for Unit 2 of Zhejiang Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant completed

At 3:36 on August 20, the raft foundation slab pouring for the conventional island of Unit 2 at Zhejiang Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant was successfully completed. With the final batch of concrete precisely placed into the formwork, the main structure construction of the conventional island for this unit was officially initiated. The concrete supply for this pouring operation was provided by CNNC Concrete Xiangshan Branch. The operation lasted 29 hours and 20 minutes, with a cumulative supply of over 4,000 cubic meters of concrete, achieving continuous and stable material delivery. The maximum pouring thickness at this section was 3 meters, with a height difference of 7 meters at the variable cross-section locations, and the structural design service life is 60 years. The project features large-volume, high-intensity construction characteristics, compounded by the rainy climate conditions on site, imposing stringent requirements on concrete supply continuity, delivery stability, and temperature control precision.

2026-08-21

Berkeley Lab Leads Development of Portable Active-Source Muon Imager

The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Ideon Technologies have received funding from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to jointly develop a field-deployable active-source muon imaging technology through the Reliable Ore Characterization Using Cornerstone Sensing Technologies (ROCKS) program. The three-year project aims to enhance the detection and characterization of underground critical mineral resources. Image credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Muons are subatomic particles with strong penetrating capability. Previously, Ideon Technologies has used passive muons produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere for ore body imaging in the mining sector, mapping mineral deposits and analyzing subsurface structures. However, passive muons primarily arrive from above, limiting detection angles; additionally, the natural flux is low—approximately one per square centimeter per minute—and imaging often requires days, weeks, or even months.

2026-08-20

West Engineering Delivers 30 Relay Protection and Automation Cabinets for Unit 2 of Akkuyu NPP

West Engineering has completed the next stage of equipment delivery for Unit 2 of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Türkiye, shipping 30 relay protection and automation cabinets to the project site. The equipment will be used for the protection, monitoring, and control of critical electrical components of the power unit. The delivered equipment includes AZ-PZ cabinets for generating analog and discrete information, power supply unit protection device cabinets, power unit measurement device cabinets, synchronizing relay cabinets, generator switch control cabinets, electrical process recording cabinets, and control current distribution cabinets, among others. According to reports, this batch of nuclear facility equipment has been designed with high safety margins and fault tolerance in mind. The supplied relay protection and automation systems comply with relevant international standards, with a safety class of 3H/N, meeting the NP-001-15 standard; the quality assurance category is QA3, and the equipment has undergone multi-stage quality control from material and component selection to acceptance testing.

2026-08-20

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the United States to Co-Host "New Nuclear Roadmap 2026" Conference

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the United States will co-host the New Nuclear Roadmap 2026 conference on September 17-18, 2026, in Paris, France. The conference will bring together ministers, senior government representatives, industry leaders, investors, experts, and relevant stakeholders to discuss the policy, industrial, and financial conditions required for the large-scale deployment of new nuclear capacity. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that the world needs more energy and that nuclear energy will play an important role in addressing this demand. The U.S. Department of Energy will co-host the conference with partners to advance nuclear innovation, strengthen international cooperation, and continue to promote global nuclear energy development...

2026-08-20

Installation of Cooling Tower Basins Completed at Rostov NPP Unit 4

The mechanical draft cooling tower project at Unit 4 of Russia's Rostov Nuclear Power Plant has recently completed the installation of all four basins, bringing the overall civil and installation readiness of the project to 80%. The facility will provide supplementary cooling capacity for Unit 4 during summer high temperatures and peak electricity demand in southern Russia. Rostov NPP is part of Rosenergoatom, the operator of Russian nuclear power plants, which is a member of the electric power division of Rosatom, Russia's state atomic energy corporation. Under the project plan, the new mechanical draft cooling tower will operate in conjunction with the existing natural draft evaporative cooling towers to enhance the unit's operational stability under high-temperature conditions. Rostov NPP's capital construction...

2026-08-20

Egypt plans to add two more units at El Dabaa nuclear power plant

Egypt is planning to add two more nuclear power units at the Dabaa nuclear power plant on its Mediterranean coast. Currently, four units provided by Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) for the project are already under construction. Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Esmat, stated that the expansion plans will be discussed with Rosatom. According to Egyptian sources, no timeline has been set for the negotiations, and no final decision has been made on the expansion plan. The expansion concept is part of Egypt's efforts to increase the share of nuclear and renewable energy in power generation and reduce dependence on traditional fuels. Egypt is particularly seeking to reduce its reliance on natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information...

2026-08-20

Unit 3 of France's Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant Reconnected to Grid, Unit 4 Remains Shut Down

According to EDF on August 18, Unit 3 of the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant in northern France was reconnected to the national grid at 3:55 a.m. local time on August 18. The unit had been automatically shut down at 7:43 p.m. on August 10 in accordance with established safety protection procedures due to a large influx of jellyfish into the seawater pump station filtration system. The Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant has a total of six units. On August 10, a large number of jellyfish entered the pump station used to draw seawater for cooling nuclear facilities, affecting equipment such as pre-filters and filter drums. In accordance with operating procedures, Units 3 and 4 were automatically shut down; the operating team also shut down Unit 2 and reduced Unit 1's power to 50% to adapt to changing site conditions. Unit 5 was...

2026-08-20

South Korea's Woori Technology Wins Supply Contract for Control Systems for Kori Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4

Woori Technology announced on August 20 that it has signed a supply contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to provide equipment and technical support for the Plant Monitoring System (PMS) facility improvement project for Units 3 and 4 of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant. According to the disclosed information, the contract amount is KRW 8.4726 billion, approximately KRW 8.5 billion, excluding value-added tax, accounting for 9.72% of Woori Technology's consolidated sales in 2025. The contract period runs from August 19, 2026 to February 21, 2028, with sales and supply limited to South Korea, and the supply method is in-house production. Under the contract arrangement, Woori Technology will...

2026-08-20

Wiley Launches Spectroscopy Analysis API Portfolio in the U.S., Enabling Rapid Identification of Unknown Compounds

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Wiley recently announced the launch of its spectroscopy analysis Application Programming Interface (API) portfolio, opening its spectral data, analytical algorithms, and predictive models to laboratories, instrument vendors, and software platforms to help users identify and verify unknown compounds faster within their own workflows. According to the company, Wiley has long been building scientific reference databases, with its spectral data applied across pharmaceuticals, forensics, environmental science, chemistry, food, and materials. The newly launched API portfolio aims to integrate these databases and analytical tools into more modern software environments, enabling laboratories to incorporate high-quality spectral information directly into existing...

2026-08-20

Firefly Aerospace to Fly Zeno Power Radioisotope Heater to Validate Lunar Night Survival Capability

Firefly Aerospace announced on August 19 that it has reached a commercial payload agreement with Zeno Power Systems to carry Zeno's Lunar Night Survival Package and radioisotope heater unit on a Blue Ghost lunar lander mission. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028 and aims to verify whether the relevant nuclear power technologies can help spacecraft, lunar infrastructure, and future lunar base systems continue operating through the long, extremely cold lunar night environment. *Rendering of Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander with Zeno Power's Lunar Night Survival Package on its top deck. Under the plan, Zeno's payload will travel with Blue Ghost to the lunar nearside...

2026-08-20