Temelín nuclear debate heats up

The controversy over Temelín, the south Bohemian nuclear power plant that for a decade has drawn the ire of environmentalists and concerned citizens in neighboring Austria and Germany, is irrelevant compared with the economic and political problems currently faced by the European Union.

Such was the view expressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg ahead of a June 12 public debate between Czech and German energy experts in Passau, Bavaria. The meeting, attended by some 30 Czech government representatives and energy experts, took place amid growing Bavarian concerns regarding Temelín's planned expansion, to be completed by 2025 with the potential participation of French, Russian and U.S. companies.

"The Czech Republic is not the only country in Europe that gains power from nuclear energy," Schwarzenberg wrote in a June 11 editorial for Süddeutsche Zeitung. "I do not know any other similar case in which a neighbor would exert such strong pressure to dissuade the other side from its plans."

In the editorial, Schwarzenberg defends the Czech Republic's right to determine its future energy policy, regardless of Germany's recent decision to substitute nuclear power with renewable energy. The Czech side is supporting this step, he pointed out, by allowing Germany to transport domestic-bound electricity through Czech distribution networks, thus straining local lines.

Energy experts attending the June 12 debate echoed Schwarzenberg's sentiments, emphasizing the Czech Republic's willingness to comply with EU energy goals, which include heightening renewable sources' role in the national energy mix to at least 8 percent.

"The pressure exerted by Austria and Germany is out of place when you consider the large economic problems Europe is currently trying to resolve," Václav Bartuška, the government representative for Temelín expansion, told The Prague Post in a telephone interview from Passau.

He added the government was already drawing some 39 billion Kč from EU subsidies to support renewable energy.

"We are more than capable of fulfilling the EU targets. We're just not willing to go any further. If Germany wants to go beyond that, it's their business. But for us, it's economically unsustainable."

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at
mhulpachova@praguepost.com