Czech companies are ready to build more nuclear units, alliance says

Czech companies are ready to build more nuclear units if required and have sufficient capacity to do so. Josef Perlík, executive director of the Czech Energy Alliance, told the Czech News Agency today. He noted that construction would be phased, allowing companies to adjust their production and workforce capacity accordingly. Building up to four units would also bring economic benefits, he said.

On Wednesday, the government invited French company EDF and South Korea’s KHNP, which are bidding to build a nuclear unit at Dukovany, to submit binding bids for the construction of up to four new reactors at Dukovany and Temelín. North American company Westinghouse, whose bid did not meet the requirements, will not continue to the next stage of the tender.

The alliance, which represents the country’s largest technology companies in the nuclear energy sector, welcomed the government’s decision. „We have long advocated building four units,“ Perlík stressed.

According to him, domestic industry can guarantee sufficient capacity and the readiness of Czech companies for such a large project. „Construction will be phased, so companies can allocate and optimise their production and workforce capacity very effectively,“ he said. Perlík added that plans to develop new specialist capacity were already in place.

Perlík said that building multiple units would also have a significant economic impact. In addition to savings on project costs, he pointed to the positive effects of broad Czech industry participation, including higher tax revenues and other payments to the state budget. The alliance chief cited a study by the University of Economics, Prague, which found that building four units would increase domestic GDP by 936 billion crowns and boost revenues for public budgets by 384 billion crowns over the construction period.

Last year, both EDF and KHNP signed cooperation agreements with the alliance, providing for at least 65 percent Czech company participation in building the new unit at Dukovany. The agreements also envisaged the involvement of domestic companies in the construction of multiple units.

Perlík also commented on the situation surrounding Westinghouse, which will not continue to the next stage of the nuclear tender. This week, Westinghouse signed an agreement with the alliance similar to those signed by EDF and KHNP. „However, Westinghouse has a very broad range of activities in Central Europe. In previous talks between the alliance, individual companies and Westinghouse, the contribution Czech industry could make to its projects in Central Europe was defined in detail, opening up significant potential for Czech industry to participate in these contracts,“ Perlík added. Specific cooperation, however, will depend on further negotiations, he said.

Last year, tender participants submitted non-binding bids for the construction of three additional reactors alongside their bids for a new nuclear unit at Dukovany. According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), an analysis of the bids showed that building multiple units could be up to 25 percent more cost-effective than building just one. He did not disclose the bid prices. Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN) said the need to build more reactors also followed from current developments in the domestic energy sector, with a large increase in consumption expected and sources such as coal-fired power plants being phased out.