COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2025 Czech Republic: New build plans accelerate
A policy that envisages a much larger nuclear contribution to the energy mix is behind plans to build large new units at existing reactor sites, as well as a series of SMR development and a life extension strategy
Above: Work has begun near the Temelin site for development of the country’s fi rst SMR in the wake of a deal for up to 3 GWe of SMR capacity.
The Czech Republic currently gets about one-third of its electricity from its six operable reactors, four VVER-440 units at Dukovany NPP, which began operating between 1985 and 1987, and two VVER-1000 units at Temelín NPP, which began operation in 2000 and 2002. With a total national nuclear capacity of 4,212 MWe, heat from Temelin is also supplied to the towns of Tyn and Vltavou and in 2020 construction began on a heat connection to the city of České Budějovice some 24 km away. Proposals for heat supply to Brno from Dukovany have also been mooted in in a bid to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources. ČEZ and municipal heating company Teplárny Brno signed agreements for a 42-kilometre-long heating pipeline from the plant to the city in 2024. The country’s nuclear plants are all owned and operated by ČEZ, itself majority owned by the state. Broadly in favour of expanding the nuclear contribution as part of its policy on emissions reduction, the Republic has revealed plans to roughly triple nuclear power capacity by 2060. As part of these plans several new reactors are planned at both the Dukovany and Temelin sites and vendors were invited to bid for construction contracts in 2024 as part of a stated policy to increase the nuclear contribution 68% of national electricity by 2040. In June, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and ČEZ subsidiary Elektrárny Dukovany II (EDU-II) signed the engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contract for new units at the Dukovany site. The contract followed a number of legal challenges that had delayed the project following the selection of a KHNP-led consortium as the preferred bidder for the construction of up to four new units at the Dukovany
and Temelín sites. KHNP said that it now plans to deliver the entire EPC, commissioning, and nuclear fuel supply scope of the project together with partners: KEPCO E&C (design), Doosan Enerbility (major equipment and construction), Daewoo E&C (construction), KEPCO NF (nuclear fuel), and KEPCO KPS (commissioning and maintenance). Construction of Dukovany unit 5 is expected to begin in 2029. In addition to new large nuclear units at Dukovany, the Czech
Republic is also advancing plans for new small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Temelin site. In July ČEZ and the UK-based Rolls- Royce SMR signed an Early Works Agreement (EWA) to start preparations for construction of the country’s first SMR in the wake of a deal for up to 3 GWe of SMR capacity. The first unit is expected to be built in the mid-2030s. Site surveys near the Temelín site began the following month ahead of applying for a construction permit. Earlier this year, ČEZ also acquired a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR in the form of a capital input. As well as new build nuclear, ČEZ continues to upgrade
its existing units. In September, for example, Doosan Škoda Power has won the public tender to supply new generators for Temelin allowing an increase in output while also strengthening regulation capabilities. Under the contract, the generators will be replaced during planned outages of Temelín’s individual units in 2029 and 2030. This followed an agreement to modernise the turbine halls at Dukovany as part of a plan to extend the plant’s operation to 60 years. Work, which should start in 2030, could involve replacement of key parts of the turbines as well as preparation for heat supplies to Brno.
www.neimagazine.com | WNE Special Edition | 65
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108
