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The operating rate of Japan's nuclear power plants stood at 58 percent in 2008, and will likely sink to the lowest level in 29 years on a fiscal-year basis, a government survey has shown. Provisional estimates in the survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry put the operating rate of 55 commercial nuclear power plants in Japan at 58 percent in 2008. The level is the lowest since the 57.4 percent recorded in 2003, when periodic inspections were held earlier due to false inspection reports. On a fiscal-year basis, the figure for fiscal 2008 is expected to come near the lowest level of 54.6 percent recorded in fiscal 1979.

Areva said on Wednesday former partner Siemens would breach a non-competition clause if the German company went ahead with plans to tie up with the French nuclear reactor maker's Russian rival Rosatom. In January, Siemens announced plans to exit its nuclear venture with Areva, a move Areva said had come as a surprise. On Tuesday, Siemens and Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear company, announced a joint venture to develop Russian pressurized water reactor technology, the construction of new nuclear power plants and modernization of existing plants.

EDF, the French energy group, could be forced to sell some of its power stations in France to help to fund its £12.2 billion acquisition of Britain's nuclear industry, it admitted yesterday. EDF shocked investors by unveiling a fall of nearly 40 per cent in annual profits and warning that its debt pile had increased to nearly €25 billion (£22.5 billion) after a string of acquisitions, including those of British Energy, the UK nuclear generator, and America's Constellation Energy. Pierre Gadonneix, the chief executive, said that EDF, which is 85 per cent owned by the French State, was aiming to cut its debt by at least €5 billion by the end of 2010 and that much of this would be achieved through asset sales.

* Workers vote 96 pct to reject latest contract offer * Plan to strike at midnight, union says * Company says no meetings with union have been scheduled (Adds details) TORONTO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Unionized workers at Cameco Corp's (CCO.TO) Port Hope, Ontario, fuel manufacturing division voted overwhelmingly on Friday to strike, and will officially walk out at midnight, a union official said. Mohamed Baksh, a staff representative for the United Steelworkers, said the vote was 96 percent to reject Cameco's most recent contract offer. He represents 137 workers at the operation, formerly known as Zircatec, which makes up a bit less than half of the total work force at the facility.

A number of countries in central, eastern and southeastern Europe plan to build new nuclear power reactors or extend the life of existing ones to meet growing domestic demand and replace ageing power capacity. Following are key facts on major projects:

Italian power company Edison SpA is willing to spend up to 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) on domestic nuclear plants, Chief Executive Umberto Quadrino said in an interview published on Saturday. Nuclear power is a priority for Edison and when "the first stone for the first plant is laid, we will be there", he told business daily Il Sole 24 Ore. "And, between 2015 and 2025, we are ready to commit up to 4 billion euros," he said.

* Joint venture to mine Dornod uranium deposit * Uranium reserves of 28,000 tonnes could be doubled * Canada's Khan Resources still owns 58 percent of licence * Investment of "hundreds of millions of dollars" (Adds quotes, details, background) By Denis Dyomkin and Lucy Hornby ULAN BATOR, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Mongolia welcomed Russia as its partner in a uranium mining venture on Tuesday as part of a wider pact to boost co-operation in infrastructure and farming, raising concerns for the Canadian miner that owns the deposit. Russian and Mongolian state-owned companies formed a joint venture to develop the Dornad deposit, which holds seven times as much uranium as Russia produced last year, after the Soviet-era allies settled a $150 million debt owed to Moscow.

Calling it the "beginning of the beginning," Duke Energy chairman, president and CEO James Rogers Thursday officially kicked off the effort to bring 400 to 700 new permanent jobs to Piketon within roughly the next decade. Advertisement The process will be pursued by a newly created partnership whose aim is to construct a new nuclear power facility in Piketon. And while it will take a considerable amount of time to complete, officials are hopeful it will lead the way to new life in a county that is presently facing 15.1 percent unemployment and routinely ranks among the highest jobless rates in the state. "It will, I think, help revitalize the economy of this part of the state," Gov. Ted Strickland said, adding that the project would make Ohio the only state including next-generation nuclear power production in its energy portfolio.

Spain's government said on Monday it has fined the operators of the 1,000 megawatt Asco I nuclear plant 15.4 million euros ($20.95 million) for six charges of breaching safety rules over a radioactive leak in November 2007. The fine was the highest to be made against a Spanish nuclear plant to date, the government said. The leak at the Endesa (ELE.MC)-owned plant in the north eastern port of Tarragona occurred when radioactive water splashed a ventilation system during refueling. Officials did not inform the nuclear watchdog (CSN) until April 4, which the watchdog said was a serious breach for "not providing the resident inspector with prompt and truthful information."

Wants to build research reactor within three years * Final decision could come as soon as August TORONTO, June 20 (Reuters) - The leader of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is seeking to build a nuclear reactor and transform his province into a producer of medical isotopes and atomic research hub, the Globe and Mail reported on Saturday. Medical isotopes have become political issue in Canada after the country's Chalk River reactor in Ontario, which normally produces about one-third of world supply, was shut down in May for at least three months because it was leaking a small amount of heavy water.

Germany's environment ministry denied approval for nuclear operator Vattenfall Europe [VATN.UL] to keep its Brunsbuettel reactor open longer, a fresh blow to operators' attemps of getting around a national closure plan. Vattenfall in May 2007 had asked to transfer 15 terawatt hours of power production quotas from its nuclear plant at Kruemmel in north Germany to Brunsbuettel, in order to lengthen Brunsbuettel's life cycle by another two-and-a-half years.

Public servants working in Britain's nuclear industry are being paid millions of pounds of taxpayer-funded bonuses every year, The Times has learnt. The finding, which emerged from the response to an inquiry under the Freedom of Information Act, has prompted fresh accusations of government waste as the Chancellor prepares the most austere Budget in decades today. The response from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the agency responsible for the clean-up of Britain's nuclear sites, shows that the organisation paid nearly £3.8 million in bonuses to its 315 staff last year. The average bonus was £11,954, with some regular, non-director level staff receiving £36,917

France is banking on 3-1/2 decades of civil nuclear use at home, and three domestic companies with atomic expertise and a global scale to spearhead a worldwide nuclear power rebirth. This is a list of key facts on power group EDF, nuclear reactor maker Areva, and gas and electricity group GDF Suez.

France is banking on 3-1/2 decades of civil nuclear use at home, and three domestic companies with atomic expertise and a global scale to spearhead a worldwide nuclear power rebirth. This is a list of key facts on power group EDF, nuclear reactor maker Areva, and gas and electricity group GDF Suez. AREVA (CEPFi.PA)

Five of France's 19 nuclear plants fell behind in terms of safety and management standards in 2008, France's nuclear safety watchdog ASN said. The plants are Belleville in central France, Paluel in the northwest, Cruas in the southeast, Fessenheim in eastern France and Flamanville in the northwest, the ASN said late on Tuesday in its second public yearly report on nuclear safety. Flamanville and Fessenheim were behind for the second year running, it added. Fessenheim's reactor 1, France's oldest nuclear reactor, will undergo its third once-a-decade inspection in the autumn, after which the ASN will determine whether or not the plant can run for another 10 years.

A senior figure in Germany's Free Democrats has threatened to drop plans to extend the lives of national nuclear plants if power companies take issue with conditions the next government attaches to such extensions. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are due to start coalition talks with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) on Monday and energy policy will be a key issue for negotiation. The two groups have said they will look to extend the lives of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, which an existing plan envisages phasing out by 2021 at the latest.

A senior figure in Germany's Free Democrats has threatened to drop plans to extend the lives of national nuclear plants if power companies take issue with conditions the next government attaches to such extensions. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are due to start coalition talks with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) on Monday and energy policy will be a key issue for negotiation. The two groups have said they will look to extend the lives of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, which an existing plan envisages phasing out by 2021 at the latest.

The drop in French nuclear availability will cost EDF (EDF.PA) one billion euros ($1.49 billion) and availability in 2009 should fall by one percentage point on the previous year to 78 percent, EDF said on Friday. France, which relies on nuclear power for 80 percent of its electricity, has seen its nuclear availability at record lows in the past few months because of strikes in the spring which delayed maintenance and a high number of unplanned outages.

The drop in French nuclear availability will cost EDF (EDF.PA) one billion euros ($1.49 billion) and availability in 2009 should fall by one percentage point on the previous year to 78 percent, EDF said on Friday. France, which relies on nuclear power for 80 percent of its electricity, has seen its nuclear availability at record lows in the past few months because of strikes in the spring which delayed maintenance and a high number of unplanned outages.

Nuclear may not be an eco-friendly solution to the world's energy woes, but in most corners it's considered one of the key technologies in our arsenal for combating climate change. Like it or hate it, trust it or fear it, embrace it or protest it, nuclear power production on this planet is here and likely to grow. The bigger question is, by how much? Resource, labour and regulatory constraints continue to draw attention to the risks and uncertainties of building new nuclear reactors, and as North American utilities start digging into the details they're finding expansion of their nuclear fleets are likely to cost much more than originally thought.

Warren Buffett's decision to rescue Constellation Energy Group Inc. gives one of the nuclear power industry's biggest skeptics some important clout in deciding its future. In agreeing to a $4.7-billion cash deal for Baltimore-based Constellation, Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will gain control of three nuclear power plants. In addition, it will own half of a prominent nuclear-plant development company, UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC, which is trying to accelerate construction of the next generation of nuclear plants in the U.S. Mr. Buffett, who has sizable investments in electric utilities and gas pipelines through Berkshire's energy firm, MidAmerican Energy Holding Co., has previously argued nuclear plants are too costly to build.