Released April 13, 2009 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Czech Republic energy group CEZ AS (PRG:BAACEZ) (Prague) has won its battle to build two new blocs at its controversial Temelin nuclear power station in South Bohemia.
The company was turned down in 2004 by local authorities, but earlier this week, South Bohemian authorities voted overwhelmingly to lift the ban and allow the company to add new blocs to the existing two blocs at the plant. The permission also covers the construction of a deep nuclear waste repository in the same region.
Temelin, which uses VVER 1000 Type V 320 pressurized water reactors, is a 2,000-megawatt (MW) facility and the biggest power producer in the Czech Republic. Temelin was originally designed as a four-bloc plant, but the government decided in 1993 to restrict it to two. Since then, CEZ has been fighting to complete Temelin as originally planned.
However, the plant has been a source of constant controversy, since it lies just 60 kilometres from the border of non-nuclear Austria and Bavaria. Political tension between the two countries resulted in the Melk agreement, which gives Austrian nuclear experts unprecedented access to Temelin information to monitor its safety. The plant has a chequered safety record with more than 166 "low-level" technical and man-made incidents reported since 2000.
CEZ has pledged 4 billion crowns ($200 million) to road, medicine, sports and cultural projects in South Bohemia as part of the deal.
"Apart from the empty promises that people receive in the form of cheaper electricity, this agreement is part of a framework agreement for southern Bohemia that will bring investment [by CEZ] of 4 billion crowns," South Bohemian Gov. Jiri Zimola said.
Last July, CEZ applied to the government to have an environmental impact assessment report carried out on Temelin to judge the potential impact on the region after the plant is completed. No publication date for the report has been issued. If CEZ gets final government approval for the new Temelin blocs, construction will start in 2013, with the first one becoming operational in 2020.
The company also runs the older Dukovany Nuclear Power Station about 30 kilometres southeast of Trebíc. It started operating in 1985 and uses four pressurised-water reactors of Type VVER 440 - Model V 213, each generating 440 MW.
CEZ has just signed a deal with the Slovakia's state-owned nuclear operator Jadrova a Vyradovacia Spolocnost AS (Bratislava) to build a nuclear power plant near Jaslovske Bohunice in Slovakia. The new plant will replace two of its aging nuclear reactors, V1 and V2, in the same region. They were closed in 2006 and 2008, respectively, fulfilling a key requirement for Slovakia's entry to the European Union in 2004. For additional information, see related May 15, 2008, news article - New Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia to Offset Closure of Two Soviet-Era Reactors.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
The company was turned down in 2004 by local authorities, but earlier this week, South Bohemian authorities voted overwhelmingly to lift the ban and allow the company to add new blocs to the existing two blocs at the plant. The permission also covers the construction of a deep nuclear waste repository in the same region. Temelin, which uses VVER 1000 Type V 320 pressurized water reactors, is a 2,000-megawatt (MW) facility and the biggest power producer in the Czech Republic. Temelin was originally designed as a four-bloc plant, but the government decided in 1993 to restrict it to two. Since then, CEZ has been fighting to complete Temelin as originally planned.
However, the plant has been a source of constant controversy, since it lies just 60 kilometres from the border of non-nuclear Austria and Bavaria. Political tension between the two countries resulted in the Melk agreement, which gives Austrian nuclear experts unprecedented access to Temelin information to monitor its safety. The plant has a chequered safety record with more than 166 "low-level" technical and man-made incidents reported since 2000.
CEZ has pledged 4 billion crowns ($200 million) to road, medicine, sports and cultural projects in South Bohemia as part of the deal.
"Apart from the empty promises that people receive in the form of cheaper electricity, this agreement is part of a framework agreement for southern Bohemia that will bring investment [by CEZ] of 4 billion crowns," South Bohemian Gov. Jiri Zimola said.
Last July, CEZ applied to the government to have an environmental impact assessment report carried out on Temelin to judge the potential impact on the region after the plant is completed. No publication date for the report has been issued. If CEZ gets final government approval for the new Temelin blocs, construction will start in 2013, with the first one becoming operational in 2020.
The company also runs the older Dukovany Nuclear Power Station about 30 kilometres southeast of Trebíc. It started operating in 1985 and uses four pressurised-water reactors of Type VVER 440 - Model V 213, each generating 440 MW.
CEZ has just signed a deal with the Slovakia's state-owned nuclear operator Jadrova a Vyradovacia Spolocnost AS (Bratislava) to build a nuclear power plant near Jaslovske Bohunice in Slovakia. The new plant will replace two of its aging nuclear reactors, V1 and V2, in the same region. They were closed in 2006 and 2008, respectively, fulfilling a key requirement for Slovakia's entry to the European Union in 2004. For additional information, see related May 15, 2008, news article - New Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia to Offset Closure of Two Soviet-Era Reactors.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
