[Finland lifts emergency planning zone restrictions for nuclear power plants] The new regulations of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) no longer require a 5 km preventive action zone and a 20 km emergency planning zone around all nuclear power plants, but instead adopt a method of determining the protection zone based on a site-specific situation analysis and will be implemented from February 1, 2024. Under the new rules, applicants for nuclear power plant licenses must separately explain to regulators each time what protected areas are needed to ensure safety, on a case-by-case basis. Under the new regulations, people and the environment must remain safe. When determining the size of the Preventive Action Area (PAZ), it should be demonstrated that in the event of an accident, the radiation dose of an unprotected person outside the PAZ will not exceed 1 Sv for 10 hours after the start of irradiation. When determining the size of the Emergency Planning Area (EPZ), it should be demonstrated that in the event of an accident, the radiation dose of an unprotected person outside the EPZ will not exceed 10 mSv for 48 hours after the start of irradiation. The maximum distance of the EPZ can be limited to 20 km. The new rules apply to all potential nuclear power plants. For the much-watched small modular reactors, the change means plants can be built closer to residents than under the old regulations if their safety can be demonstrated. Editor/Xu Shengpeng

Click to see more live >>

• 2024.03.18 18:09
• [Europe: Install solar on the roof of all new residential buildings from 2030]
• The European Parliament has formally adopted the revised Energy Performance Directive for Buildings (EPBD), which will become law after formal approval by the Council of Ministers. The directive requires all new residential buildings in the EU to be powered by rooftop solar from 2030, and public buildings and non-residential buildings will need to be phased in according to their scale and technical and economic assessments. The EPBD aims to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector in line with the EU's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Currently, the building sector accounts for 40% of the EU's total energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of improving energy efficiency in buildings is to enhance energy independence and sustainability in this sector by reducing the use of imported oil and gas fuels. Under the forthcoming rules, all new buildings occupied or owned by public bodies will need to be zero-emission by 2028, and all new buildings from 2030 onwards. Member States need to clearly plan the measures taken to decarbonize heating systems in order to phase out fossil fuels in heating and cooling by 2040. From 2025, stand-alone fossil fuel boilers will no longer receive subsidies, but hybrid heating systems that use renewable energy will be eligible for financial incentives. Editor/Xu Shengpeng

• 2024.03.18 18:09
• [Germany plans to build fusion power plants]
• Germany's Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has announced a new fusion research funding program aimed at paving the way for the construction of the first fusion power plant in Germany by 2040. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has long supported fusion research at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching and Greifswald, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Jurich Research Centre (FZJ). "This institutional funding is complemented by the second pillar of the new Project Funding Scheme," the ministry said. "The project funding aims to advance the technologies, components and materials required for fusion power plants in the first phase by the early 2030s. The second phase focuses on integration into the power plant design. The funding program is open to technology and addresses so-called magnetic confinement and laser fusion technology." In order to achieve the construction of fusion power stations as soon as possible, the program is essentially application-oriented collaborative research as a form of public-private partnership. Projects on specific sub-technologies will be carried out jointly by research institutions, universities and industry. This allows new findings from the research to be applied at an early stage and know-how to be transferred to domestic industries for further use, the ministry said. Editor/Xu Shengpeng