Nuclear power in Europe

Prague - The Dukovany nuclear power plant, owned by Czech power giant CEZ, nearly shut down one of its four units Tuesday owing to an employee’s mistake, the company said.

Unit’s two turbines were automatically switched off from the grid after a technician mistakenly turned off one of its six cooling circuits. (more…)

Romania is eyeing construction of a new nuclear plant with capacity of between 2,000 and 2,400 megawatts, whose first unit could come on line after 2020, the head of the state nuclear operator Nuclearelectrica said on Friday.

Along with some other former communist EU members, Romania is at the forefront of a renewed push for nuclear energy as an alternative to coal and gas which emit carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming. Nuclearelectrica operates Romania’s only nuclear power station in Cernavoda, where the first of two 706MW units went on stream in 1996. (more…)

PRAGUE (Thomson Financial) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus reiterated support for the further use of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic after a meeting with the industry minister Wednesday, news agency CTK reported.

‘If we want to have electric energy, we cannot get along without nuclear energy,’ Klaus was quoted as saying. (more…)

PRAGUE (Thomson Financial) - CEZ is completing a feasibility study on the development of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic and it is possible that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the expansion of the group’s Temelin nuclear power plant could start this year, a company spokeswoman said. (more…)

With France pushing for greater cooperation on nuclear power with Romania, the Canadians who first introduced nuclear tech to Romania argue the Gallic technology comes at a cost the country may not be willing to pay.

Romania plans to build a second nuclear power station, but its rumoured interest in French nuclear technology may prove too expensive an option. News of the country’s flirtation with French nuclear technology arose when President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Bucharest last February. (more…)

The Czech Republic’s ruling Civic Democrats (ODS) will seek a revision of their government pact with two other parties so that new nuclear power plants can be built, the Hospodarske Noviny newspaper reported on Thursday. The paper quoted the head of the lower house’s economy committee, Oldrich Vojir, as saying that his party would propose building new nuclear blocs after a group of experts presents a report later this year on energy policy options. (more…)

The Prague Post January 30th, 2008

Reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant attracted almost 29,000 visitors in 2007.

Nuclear power is in vogue. Not only have soaring energy prices and rising energy demand put atomic power on the public agenda, but it seems they have boosted the curiosity of tourists, as well.
(more…)

BRATISLAVA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Slovakia will open a tender this year to expand the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant, seeking to boost power capacity to meet demands of its growing economy, Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek said on Monday.

“We expect that the tender will be called this year,” Jahnatek told reporters after meeting his Czech counterpart Martin Riman. (more…)

Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:04am EST

SOFIA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s state power utility NEK said on Thursday it had asked strategic investors to file improved offers to acquire a 49-percent stake in a planned new nuclear power plant by Jan. 9.

NEK executive director Lyubomir Velkov told reporters all five short-listed bidders had been invited to sweeten their bids for the 2,000 megawatt, 4.0 billion euro ($5.75 billion) power plant at the Danube river town of Belene. (more…)

(Novinite) Bulgaria will be able to start construction works on the planned Belene nuclear power plant no sooner than 2009, the head of the country’s nuclear regulator said on Monday.

The regulator is yet to rule on the technical details of the project and the proposed safety measures, said Sergey Tsochev, who chairs Bulgaria’s Nuclear Regulation Agency. (more…)