Temel铆n 2 clear for longer operation
The State Office for Nuclear Safety (S脷JB) has announced that it has granted a licence to 膶EZ to continue power generation at Temelin 2.
S脷JB said it saw no reason not to do so, having evaluated the documentation provided by 膶EZ, which the company said it had been providing for more than six months.
Jan Kruml, director of the power plant, explained: "We had to document how we will monitor the lifespan of important equipment in the coming years or what the investment will be in modernising and strengthening safety."
Some of the documentation covered both reactors at the plant and was submitted when unit 1 went through the same review in 2020. The reactors must undergo this kind of Periodic Safety Assessment every ten years to maintain their operating licences.
"We want to operate both nuclear units for at least 60 years," said Brohdan Zronek, director of nuclear energy at 膶EZ.
The two pressurised water reactors at Temel铆n are VVER-1000 units designed by Russia's Gidropress, which came into operation in 2000 and 2002. They originally had generating capacities of 963 MWe and 930 MWe but after numerous upgrades and improvements they now generate 1027 MWe and 1029 MWe.
Temel铆n produces about 20% of the Czech Republic's electricity as well as heat to the nearby town of T媒n nad Vltavou, while the Dukovany nuclear power plant produces a further 17%. Coal is the next largest source of electricity in the country at 40%, but this is to be phased out by 2038. To support this aim, new reactors are planned at both Temel铆n and Dukovany.
