Russia accelerating plans. The World Nuclear News reported Friday that Russian leaders have affirmed the strategic and economic importance of
nuclear technology to the country, announcing that spending will rise and a major development program will be accelerated. Russian prime minister
Dmitry Medvedev praised nuclear power, highlighting that nuclear technology is one of Russia's leading industries. The country's state nuclear
corporation, Rosatom, has a long-term strategy up to 2050 that involves moving to inherently safe nuclear plants using fast reactors with a closed
fuel cycle and MOX fuel. Russia's federal target program envisages nuclear providing 45-50% at that time, with the share rising to 70-80% by the
end of the century.
Also last week, a senior executive at Rio Tinto (RTP), Stephen Wilson, highlighted that China is on track to become the world's largest generator of
nuclear power between now and some time in the 2020s. Wilson told the Australian Institute of Energy national conference in Sydney, ''This is a quiet
revolution." By the end of the decade, China is expected to become the world's second-largest nuclear energy producer, Wilson said, before overtaking
the U.S. in the 2020s, producing 100 gigawatts of power. |
