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EIA on lifetime extension of Olkiluoto 1&2 has started

Olkiluoto 1&2 in Finland started operation in 1978 and 1980. They have already undergone one lifetime extension from the originally planned 40 years up to 60 years, which will be reached in 2038. The ongoing procedure comprises a lifetime extension for additional 10 or even 20 years up to 2048 or 2058, respectively. The reactors…

Unlawful decision of the government of the republic of Bulgaria for the construction of a new NPP

Za Zemiata wrote a letter to the Bulgarian Prime Minister concerning the planned newbuild of Kozloduy 7 pointing to violations of the law The Bulgarian NGOs Za Zemiata and Greenpeace call on the government to stop the procedures for the construction of units 7 and 8 at the Kozloduy NPP, not only due to violations…

“Russian Grip on EU Nuclear Power” – updated study

An update of Patricia Lorenz’s study “Russian Grip on EU Nuclear Power” was commissioned by the Viennese Environmental Ombudsman and “Cities for a Nuclear Free Europe” (CNFE). The study analyses the European nuclear sector’s dependency on Russia. In particular, it also analyses possible EU strategies to reduce this dependency. The EU has not come any…

Small Modular Reactors in CZ Republic

Launch of a study: “Perspectives of Small Modular Reactors in the Czech Republic” – Jan 2024: English version also available! The study was presented in October 2023 by the author Stephen Thomas, Emeritus Professor at the University of Greenwich, UK. He has examined seven SMR technologies under development, from which the Czech energy company CEZ…

Dukovany 5: from EIA to construction license

For the first time ever, NPP permitting procedures were open to NGOs beyond the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is usually the only possibility for public participation. The transboundary EIA for Dukovany 5 took place in 2018 with hearings not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Vienna and Munich. However, the EIA was…

Tricastin-1 got life-time extension license without EIA

On 10.08.2023, the French regulator ASN’s decision on the lifetime extension of Tricastin-1, which had been taken already on 29.06.2023, was announced – and this without a transboundary EIA. This is in violation of the Espoo “Guidance on the applicability of the Convention to the lifetime extension of nuclear power plants”.

Plans for nuclear newbuild and life-time extension in France without adequate participation

In France, the public debate on new reactors has started, namely on two reactors in Penly in Normandy. In cooperation with the NGO RECH (Réaction en Chaîne Humaine) and Nuclear Transparency Watch, we drafted a letter to the responsible French authorities and EC to demand adequate participation in the form of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)…

Conference on Russian nuclear industry sanctions

Urgewald, Friends of the Earth Europe, the energy thinktank DiXi Group (Ukraine) and the geo-economics thinktank Eastern Circles (France) and ENERGOATOM, Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator, have discussed possible sanctions against ROSATOM, the state-owned nuclear corporation of the Russian Federation. More than one year after Russia has invaded Ukraine, significant sanctions against ROSATOM are still…