In addition to the two reactors, a so-called Small Modular Reactor (SMR for short) is to be built at the Temelín nuclear power plant site. The environmental protection organization GLOBAL 2000 has now submitted a statement on the ongoing environmental impact assessment (EIA). Because the UVP leaves all important questions and information unanswered. The only concrete information at the moment is the construction site, which is adjacent to the existing nuclear power plant area of the two operating VVER-1000 reactors in Temelín.
“GLOBAL 2000 joins its Czech partner organizations and calls on the Ministry of the Environment in Prague to stop the EIA process for this project without an existing SMR design,” demands Patricia Lorenz, anti-nuclear spokeswoman for GLOBAL 2000.
Lots of questions, no answers
The Czech partially state-owned nuclear power plant operator ČEZ would like to be the first to build an SMR in order to be prepared for the expected SMR trend. But nothing is mentioned in the project document about this SMR (Small Modular Reactor), which was announced as the breakthrough for the ailing nuclear industry.
Ultimately, this is not surprising, as none of the SMR designs currently in development exist or are even approved. The technological solution stated is simply that it will be a light or heavy water reactor.
The number of planned reactors also remains unclear, as one or two is possible. The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA’s definition of SMR as a reactor with an output of up to 300 MW would be far exceeded at the planned 500 MW.
In development
No alternative locations are listed as project variants, but four – unfinished – SMR designs are listed: UK SMR, BWRX-300, NUWARD, WESTINGHOUSE SMR (AP 300).
The UK SMR is to be developed in collaboration between ČEZ and Rolls-Royce SMR and would be a pressurized water reactor. The BWRX-300 (GE-Hitachi) boiling water reactor is under development in Canada, but its design has not yet been accepted by regulators. EDF’s NUWARD was one of the favorites of not only the Czech SMR plans, but was abandoned in the summer due to skyrocketing costs. The SMR (AP300) from Westinghouse, like all others, is just a design that builds on existing reactors with reduced performance and is therefore forced to have significantly higher costs per KWh generated, thus further exacerbating the well-known problem of nuclear energy, namely the exorbitant investment costs .
Planning stop
Ultimately, the high number of different nuclear plants that are supposed to go into operation next to each other at one location is also concerning. It is difficult to estimate their cumulative effect, especially in the case of accidents as a result of natural events.
Meanwhile, the Czech government justifies the plans by saying that it has to implement the state energy concept. Given the fact that this concept has neither been finalized nor subjected to a strategic environmental assessment (SEA), the justification seems more than artificial
“The plan also mentioned to replace the coal-fired power plants – phase-out around 2030 – with nuclear energy is completely illusory given the planning and construction times of 15-20 years for nuclear power plants. Alternative scenarios? None,” concluded Lorenz.