Czech Republic

Dukovany suspends third unit from grid due to leak

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Dukovany, Jan 20 (CTK) – Staff at Czech nuclear power station Dukovany yesterday unhooked the plant’s third production unit from the grid owing to a leak in the secondary circuit.

Technicians found out that tens of litres of non-radioactive water per hour were leaking from one of the pipelines in the secondary circuit. (more…)

The CZK 500 billion game

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Although the information hasn’t made front page headlines yet, the biggest behind-the-scenes swarm of lobbyists is now hovering over the construction of two additional reactors at the Temelín nuclear plant. The actual deal looks “somewhat” different. The state-owned energy giant ČEZ is looking to secure five nuclear reactors: two for Temelín and another three for power plants that the energy company plans to build abroad, altogether, a contract worth CZK 500 billion. It’s a gigantic tender, the biggest in Czech history. (more…)

Czech Temelin nuke plant’s Unit 2 off for two days

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

PRAGUE, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Czech power group CEZ said on Tuesday it had disconnected Unit 2 at its nuclear power plant Temelin from the grid in the morning due to a fault in a non-nuclear part of the unit and it would be down for two days.

Temelin has two 1,000 megawatt units. The other unit is also out of order, undergoing repair work that is expected to continue until the middle of December. (more…)

Czech CEZ hopes crisis will stall EU climate package

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

PRAGUE (AFP) — Central Europe’s top power producer, Czech-based CEZ, is pinning hopes on the financial crisis to thwart the approval of the EU’s green package, saying it would hit hard at the region’s coal-dependent industry.

The EU’s climate-energy package seeks to raise the share of renewable sources in power production by 2020, boost energy savings and tighten the rules for trading in CO2 emission permits in a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions. (more…)

Fico disappointed with EC’s ‘inaction’ on ENEF

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Prime Minister Robert Fico said he was unpleasantly surprised by the European Commission’s (EC) lack of a response to the meeting of the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF).

“I am sorry that, despite the renewed interest in nuclear energy, the European Commission did not nominate a single member to attend the forum,” he said at ENEF’s opening session. “Neither Slovakia nor the Czech Republic came to the ENEF. Nonetheless, I’d like to confirm that we are interested in its activities.”

Temelín second unit running again

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Temelin, Oct 26 (CTK) – Nuclear power plant Temelin produces electricity again as of Saturday, but only in the second unit which was shut down on Thursday midnight, Temelin spokesman Marek Svitak has told CTK.

The second unit was disconnected due to repair of the system bringing oil to regulatory valves. (more…)

CEZ says will ask for nuke plant assessment

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

VIENNA (Reuters) – Czech power firm CEZ will file for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a new unit at its Dukovany nuclear power station in weeks, CEZ sales chief Alan Svoboda said on Tuesday.

CEZ already filed a request to add two units at its Temelin plant earlier this year as it prepares to renew and expand its nuclear portfolio. (more…)

U.S. backing for Serbian IAEA project

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

VIENNA — The U.S. has backed Serbian efforts to transfer the remaining nuclear waste at the Vinča Institute out of the country by 2010.

The U.S. delegation supported the project at the International Atomic Energy Association’s (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, said Deputy Science and Technology Minister Miroslav Vesković. (more…)

Slovak Premier, French President Agree on Nuclear Cooperation

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Paris, 17 September: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and French President Nicolas Sarkozy today signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy and agreements on strategic partnership which is expected to enhance all-round relations between the two countries.

“France and Slovakia have clearly opted for nuclear energy. It covers 50 per cent of electric energy consumption in Slovakia,” the French presidential office said on the meeting. (more…)

Chernobyl nuclear disaster shocks the world

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008


Twenty-two years ago, the most serious accident in nuclear history disrupted the lives of millions of people. Massive amounts of radioactive materials were released into the environment resulting in a radioactive cloud that spread over much of Europe. The greatest contamination occurred around the Chernobyl nuclear power station in areas that are now part of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. People in Czechoslovakia were not in acute danger, but like others in the communist block they learnt about the nuclear accident many days after it happened and the media censorship ordered by the communist regime prevented them from taking even the most basic precautions. (more…)