Bavarian regional politicians concerned about planned expansion of Temelín in Czechia

Bavarian politicians in districts along the border with Czechia are concerned about the Czech government’s plans to expand the Temelín nuclear power plant. They are worried about the quality of construction. Regional politicians in Austria have also expressed opposition to the planned construction of up to four new units at the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants.

„In Germany, the use of good nuclear power plants has been abandoned; in Czechia, we need to make sure new ones aren’t built to poor standards,“ Bernd Sibler, head of the Deggendorf district near the Czech border, is quoted as saying by the Bavarian Broadcasting portal.

The politician from the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) acknowledges, however, that electricity is needed. The region is also concerned about a nuclear waste repository on the Czech side.

For Sebastian Gruber (CSU), head of the Freyung district, the scale of the current plans is „very surprising and causing concern in the border region“. Their implementation would, he said, have „a significant impact on quality of life“ in this region on the German side of the Bohemian Forest, particularly because concerns about safety standards have been justified in the past.

Bavarian regional politicians want to discuss the safety standards of the new nuclear units with representatives of the Czech government. They say they will expect and demand that the strictest safety criteria be met in these talks. But they do not want to criticise the „sovereign decision of a neighbouring country“. Germany, having abandoned nuclear power, must get used to other European countries pursuing different energy policies, and the „hunger for electricity“ must also be taken into account.

Germany disconnected its last nuclear power plant from the grid in mid-April last year. It stopped generating nuclear power after more than 60 years.

hab ank