All three bidders submit final bids for new unit at Dukovany in Czechia

All three shortlisted bidders have submitted final bids to build a new nuclear unit at Dukovany: North American company Westinghouse, South Korea’s KHNP and France’s EDF. The bidders also submitted non-binding bids for three additional reactors. Energy company ČEZ will now evaluate the bids and then submit an evaluation report to the government for approval. ČEZ informed the Czech News Agency (ČTK) of this today. It did not disclose details of the bids. The new unit is expected to be completed by 2036.

„We are pleased that all three bidders have confirmed their strong interest in building a new nuclear power source in the Czech Republic. Since the tender was launched in March last year, we have seen careful preparation from all the bidders. We will now evaluate the bids and, under our agreement with the state, submit the evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and, in turn, to the Czech government for final approval,“ said Tomáš Pleskač, ČEZ board member and director of its new energy division.

Company representatives submitted their bids to ČEZ’s Prague headquarters this morning on an electronic storage device. The data on it is specially encrypted and secured, the company said.

ČEZ will evaluate the bids over the coming months, focusing on their economic, commercial and technical aspects. The company said its evaluation model is based on recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The government will then receive the evaluation reports for approval. Under the current schedule, contracts with the selected bidder are expected to be signed next year.

Last year, majority state-owned ČEZ received non-binding bids alongside the bids to build a new reactor at Dukovany for another unit at Dukovany and for the construction of third and fourth units at Temelín. ČEZ and the state have previously acknowledged that additional nuclear power plant units will probably be needed in the future to meet electricity demand in Czechia.

EDF was the first to submit a bid this morning. „We believe we will win the tender. Our advantage is that this is a European solution. We are offering a proven design as well as strong involvement from Czech suppliers,“ said Roman Zdebor, head of EDF’s Czech branch. He added that he considers the clarity of the solution a competitive advantage over the other bidders. EDF representatives brought the technical and commercial parts of the bid to ČEZ’s headquarters on nine CDs.

Harry Chang, a representative of South Korea’s KHNP, said the company had sought to meet the needs and requirements of the Czech tender. He added that they did not want to be overconfident, but still believed they could succeed.

Westinghouse submitted its bid today together with its partner Bechtel. The company also declared its interest in involving domestic industry in the project, with local companies potentially accounting for up to 70 percent. „Westinghouse has been working with the Czech Republic in the field of nuclear energy for more than 30 years, and we are proud to continue fulfilling this commitment by providing safe and reliable nuclear energy through our proven AP1000 technology,” said David Durham, president of Westinghouse Energy Systems.

Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN) also welcomed the progress in the tender, noting that nuclear energy will be the foundation of the country’s energy sector. „Czech energy security cannot do without it. The fact that the investor received bids today from all three bidders for the construction of a new unit at Dukovany is another important step in the development of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic, as it takes us into the next phase of the tender. Our task now will be to select a suitable supplier and set a realistic construction plan that will enable us to produce enough electricity for Czech households and businesses at affordable prices,“ Síkela said today.

Other parts of the project are also moving forward alongside the tender. On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) issued a zoning decision for new nuclear units at Dukovany. The decision is expected to enable the construction of up to two reactors. The ministry said it sends a signal to all bidders for the new unit that the project will be ready to proceed.

The new Dukovany unit will be built next to the existing plant and will eventually replace part of its capacity. The first unit at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant began operating in 1985. The new reactor project is expected to be the Czech Republic’s largest investment in modern history. According to previous statements by the government and ČEZ, the new reactor is expected to cost about 160 billion Kč in 2020 prices. The exact price will be known only after the tender is completed.

Czechia currently has six nuclear units at two power plants. Two units, each with a capacity of approximately 1000 megawatts (MW), are at Temelín in South Bohemia. Four smaller units with a capacity of 510 MW are at Dukovany in the Třebíč region. Alongside new conventional reactors, ČEZ is also preparing to build small modular reactors. The first is expected to be built at Temelín.