What is the status of the Czech heat pipeline from Dukovany to Brno?

Preparations for the Dukovany–Brno heat pipeline project are reaching their final stage. For this reason, articles opposing the project have begun to appear from critics of nuclear energy. It is therefore timely to take a closer look at their arguments.

Several articles opposing the Dukovany–Brno heat pipeline have appeared recently in Deník Referendum and Britské listy. They were written by Daniel Kotecký (here and here) and Jiří Hlavenka (here). Both the authors and the respective media outlets have long pursued an anti-nuclear campaign, and their current criticism of the heat pipeline stems purely from this stance. In my view, if the pipeline were not to receive heat from a nuclear source, these authors would almost certainly not have written their criticisms of it.

I would like to clarify some facts that are not mentioned in the articles. It is important to explain why, in the past, switching Brno’s district heating system to nuclear sources was problematic, whereas it has now become economically advantageous. The key change has taken place in Brno. The city’s heat supply system was largely based on steam pipelines, with almost a hundred kilometres of steam distribution lines. The gradual transition from steam pipes to hot-water pipes began around 2010 and is now nearing completion. Since heat supplied by a nuclear power plant is most efficiently delivered as hot water, it makes sense to wait until the transition from steam pipes to hot-water pipes is complete. This is also why the Dukovany heat pipeline began to be discussed more intensively again around that year, as Mr Hlavenka also points out.