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Wednesday, 12 August 2026

49 briefs so farlast update 18:52 UTC

Key points

  • Iran Holds Firm on Conditions for Reopening Strait of Hormuz.
  • Saudi Arabia Reports July Crude Output of 8.2 MMbpd to OPEC.
  • Tesla Seeks Texas Tax Break for USD 10.1 Billion Solar Cell Plant.
  • Nigeria Signs Tax-Break Order Targeting $50 Billion in Oil and Gas Investment.
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Generation

Site Works Start for Four Planned Kola II Reactors in Russia

Site preparation has started for the Kola II nuclear power units in Russia, following the granting of a site licence by Russian regulator Rostekhnadzor, according to World Nuclear News.

Rosatom intends to build four units at the site using the VVER-S design, a 600 MWe water-cooled reactor still under development, with the first two scheduled for construction between 2027 and 2037.

The fuel cycle is central to the design case. Rosatom says that if the proposed VVER-S reactors can run on a full load of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, natural uranium use would fall by 50%.

The new capacity is meant to replace the four VVER-440 units already operating at Kola, each rated at 411 MWe and connected to the grid between 1973 and 1984, World Nuclear News reported.

Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis said the project will create over 5,000 new jobs during the construction phase, and will require hundreds of highly qualified specialists once the units are running.

Source: world-nuclear-news.org (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Generation

Radiation Monitoring Lagged Two Days as Sandy Fire Burned Near Santa Susana Nuclear Site

California officials could not arrange federal help for real-time radiation testing until at least two days after the Sandy Fire started, Inside Climate News reported, despite urgent requests for monitoring from the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

The fire burned 2,183 acres after starting south of Simi Valley on the morning of May 18, according to Inside Climate News, and stayed active for nine days before crews reached full containment. No deaths or injuries resulted.

More than 33,000 people in the valley and surrounding communities were ordered to evacuate as smoke plumes moved across the area, Inside Climate News reported.

The monitoring gap matters because of what sits at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. An experimental reactor at the site suffered a partial meltdown while the facility was run by the Atomic Energy Commission, Inside Climate News reported, and the scale of that accident stayed secret for years. Scientists later estimated that the release exceeded the radiation released at the Three Mile Island accident.

Documentation of conditions during the fire is still pending. A Boeing report covering the May period when the Sandy Fire burned will not be published until the fourth quarter of the year, a Boeing official told Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News based its account of the state response on emails obtained from California officials.

Source: insideclimatenews.org (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

A wildfire burns across dry brush covered hills in Southern California with thick smoke rising over distant industrial buildings on a ridge.
Photo: Soly Moses / Pexels (opens in a new tab)