BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended her government's decision to phase out nuclear power and switch to renewable energies within a decade, but acknowledged the need to overhaul and speed up the transition plan.
The Polish government expressed its commitment to proceed with plans for the country's first nuclear power station, as it aims to ease its dependence on coal, Reuters reports.
Mitt Romney expressed support for the struggling uranium enrichment company USEC, saying that its efforts are critical to both national and energy security, Politico reports. USEC has been seeking more than $2 billion in federal aid for its American Centrifuge Project in Ohio.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Prairie Island Indian Community detailing its collaboration in reviewing the potential environmental impacts of renewing the on-site storage facility license at the Prairie Island nuclear plant.
The Energy Department has failed to fully show that $6 billion in economic stimulus money spent to clean up government-owned nuclear and chemical waste sites has met performance goals, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
In a report mandated by Congress, the GAO said that past project management problems it has seen in the department's work to clean up Cold War hazardous waste sites cropped up again in the stimulus spending by the Office of Environmental Management.
India and Australia will begin talks this week on a nuclear agreement to secure uranium exports for India's nuclear power industry, The Wall Street Journal reports.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Dealing a blow to the conservative government's vision of becoming a regional energy powerhouse, Lithuanians voted instead for big-spending politicians and rejected plans for a new nuclear power plant.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania's election authority says nearly two-thirds of voters have rejected the idea of building a new nuclear power plant.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is ready to show flexibility at nuclear talks to ease Western concerns over its contentious nuclear program, its foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, as tensions rise in the standoff between the Islamic Republic, Israel and the West.
The United States and the European Union plan to negotiate settlements with China for the import of cheaper Chinese solar panels into Western markets, The New York Times reports.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a case from an Alaskan village arguing it should be allowed to sue energy companies for climate change damages, Reuters reports.
Business and policy groups including the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce called on the Senate to approve the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, The Hill reports.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told the Interior Department his administration is willing to invest up to $50 million in an assessment of oil reserves of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomberg reports.
Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee called on the EPA to suspend rulemaking for stormwater runoff until the agency opens the process to small businesses.
