Power August 2023 - 6

Czech Republic Expanding
Nuclear Power Program
The Czech Republic is looking to expand
its use of nuclear power, with utility
CEZ launching another tender looking
for companies to bid on construction
of new reactors and generators at the
country's two existing nuclear power
stations. The tenders come as a new research
reactor, designed as a teaching
tool for nuclear engineering students,
has entered service in the country. The
VR-2 research reactor was built in about
a year, and comes online just less than a
decade after the project was launched in
2014 by the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences
and Physical Engineering (FNSPE) at
the Czech Technical University (CTU) in
Prague. CTU said the VR-2 reactor is located
" in the same reactor hall as the
VR-1, " a lightwater, zero-power research
reactor using enriched uranium that has
operated since 1990.
CEZ in May of this year launched a
tender to add two generators to the
Temelin Nuclear Power Station, a 2,056MW
facility with two VVER-1000 units
designed by Russia's Gidropress. The
units came online in 2000 and 2002.
CEZ said its wants construction of the
new generators at Temelin, representing
an investment of about $160 million,
to take place between 2028 and 2030.
CEZ in March 2022 announced a tender
seeking companies to bid on a oneunit
expansion of the Dukovany nuclear
power plant. The utility late last year
said three groups-France's EDF, South
Korea's KHNP, and Westinghouse Electric-made
the initial bids to construct
a new reactor at Dukovany, and it expects
the bidding process will conclude
by September of this year. Officials said
companies from China and Russia were
excluded from the bidding due to security
concerns. The Czech Republic has
made a series of moves to distance itself
from Russia after the latter's invasion
of Ukraine.
The 2,040-MW Dukovany plant (Figure
1) has four VVER-400 pressurizedwater
reactors that were put into
operation between 1985 and 1987. The
plant's original installed capacity was
1,760 MW, and Dukovany has increased
its power output through a series of turbine
upgrades, efficiency programs, and
other technical improvements over the
past several years. CEZ officials have
6
said the plant's current units are expected
to operate until at least 2037, with a
possible extension to 2047.
" We expect the [construction] contracts
[for the new reactor] to be finalized
in 2024, " CEZ board member Tomas
Pleskac said in a recent statement. Officials
said the new 1,200-MW unit at
Dukovany should be ready to come online
in 2036. The project to build a new
reactor represents an investment of €6
billion ($6.4 billion), which officials said
is the largest investment in the modern
history of the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic receives about
36% of its electricity supply from the
reactors at Temelin and Dukovany, according
to government data. CEZ has
said it wants to modernize the Temelin
plant as it has Dukovany, and would like
for Temelin to operate for at least another
60 years. Bohdan Zronek, director of
CEZ's nuclear energy division, said the
company wants to choose the contractor
for the two-generator Temelin project no
later than the first quarter of 2024.
A team from Westinghouse and
Bechtel in March of this year hosted
an event for representatives from 55
Czech companies to discuss opportunities
to support expansion of the Czech
Republic's nuclear power program.
" The Czech Republic has committed
to meeting increasing electricity demands
while reducing carbon emissions
and reliance on coal and other
fossil fuels, " said Ahmet Tokpinar, general
manager of Bechtel's Nuclear
Power business line, at that meeting.
" The time is now to begin engagement
with potential suppliers in the
Czech Republic and we look forward to
building lasting partnerships. "
A Westinghouse-Bechtel team in
November 2022 submitted a proposal
to build a Westinghouse AP1000 unit
at Dukovany, should Westinghouse be
chosen for that expansion project, and
said there also were discussions about
adding two units at Temelin. CEZ on
March 27 of this year signed a deal with
Westinghouse to supply nuclear fuel for
the Dukovany plant, as Czech officials
look to end a reliance on Russia's TVEL
for fuel. CEZ officials said Westinghouse
would begin fuel deliveries next year.
CEZ in 2022 selected Westinghouse
and France's Framatome to supply fuel
for the Temelin plant.
Officials said the VR-2 research reactor
at CTU also will provide a boost
to the country's nuclear power expansion,
as it offers several experimental
and training opportunities. Officials estimated
the cost of the project at about
$360,000. " With the new VR-2 fission
reactor, teaching and research activities
will be easier to schedule, because with
the VR-1 we have been facing capacity
limits, " said Václav Cuba, an FNSPE
dean. " VR-1 serves not only students
from our home faculty but also students
from other faculties at CTU and other
universities. It is open to train foreign
students and even staff from industry. "
CTU officials said VR-2 is the 10th
nuclear reactor operating in the Czech
Republic-the two VR training reactors,
the six reactors operating at Dukovany
and Temelin, and another two research
reactors at the Research Centre in Rez.
-Darrell Proctor is a senior associate
editor for POWER.
Thermal Power Plants in Cuba
Struggle to Meet Demand
Since
2021, Cuba has
been
going
through a complex situation in its na1.
The Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic has four VVER-400 pressurizedwater
reactors that were put into operation between 1985 and 1987. Officials want to add another
1,200-MW reactor at the site. Courtesy: CEZ
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