The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
November 23rd, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation

Home » Archives » Business

ČEZ nuclear plants to expand

Temelín to double in size by 2020 if impact assessment is positive

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 16th, 2008 issue

One week after an independent panel of experts failed to present the government with a viable solution for the future of the country’s ailing energy policy, the largest Czech energy producer ČEZ is going ahead with its own agenda.
The state-run company initiated its long-contemplated plans for a two-block expansion of its nuclear power plant Temelín July 11, submitting the project for an environmental impact assessment by the Environment Ministry.
“ČEZ would like to facilitate a complex analysis of possible environmental effects of the completion of the Temelín nuclear power plant,” the company announced July 14.
The ambitious project may transform the Czech Republic, the third-highest energy exporter in Europe, into a nuclear power.
Slated to begin by 2013, the project aims to expand the existing nuclear facility from two to four blocks, and expects to complete the first of the two new blocks by 2020.
According to company spokesman Ladislav Kříž, ČEZ is mulling four possible outputs for the new reactors. The least productive option reckons with an output of 1,000 megawatts for each new block — equivalent to the output of the existing reactors — while the most productive alternative expects a 1,700 megawatt output.
While ČEZ declined to reveal the total cost of the project, local ecological NGO Hnutí Duha estimated the price at 353 billion Kč ($23.6 billion). The organization based its claim on a May study by global risk analyst Moody’s, which estimated the new nuclear reactors to cost 7,000 Kč per installed kilowatt.
“The cost of the planned completion of the Temelín power plant can only be known after the contract is signed,” Kříž told journalists July 14. “It cannot be publicly anticipated or specified due to public tender rules.”
If the government approves the project, ČEZ will likely commission Mitsubishi, Atomenergoprojekt, Areva or Westinghouse to construct the nuclear reactors, the Czech News Agency reported.
The planned construction will be financed by the company’s own resources, and will not influence local energy prices, Kříž said.
With all government parties except the Greens backing the project, the Environment Ministry, whose spokesman Jakub Kašpar called the assessment “standard procedure,” is expected to approve the plan.
While hinting that the government was succumbing to ČEZ interests, Environment Minister and Green Party Chairman Martin Bursík — the government’s most vocal opponent of nuclear energy expansion — said he would not block the assessment.
ČEZ considers the environmental assessment a technicality.
“ČEZ views the [assessment] submittal as a technical step,” Kříž said. “We expect the government to use [ministry] rulings as a resource for future policy.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


Other articles in Business (16/07/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.