Six Companies Interested In Building Czech Reactors, Say Reports

3 Nov (NucNet): Six companies have shown interest in building additional nuclear reactors at existing power station sites in the Czech Republic, but a decision to proceed with construction will probably come after elections in October 2017, reports have said. Reuters news agency quoted Jan Stuller, the Czech government’s special envoy for nuclear power, as saying that Russia’s Rosatom, French group EDF, US company Westinghouse, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, China General Nuclear Power and a grouping of France’s Areva and Mitsubishi Atmea had all shown interest in future construction. “It is important to stress that this is not about offers for the construction of new nuclear plant blocks, but responses to our request for information,” Mr Stuller was quoted as saying. The Czech Republic’s National Action Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy counts on at least one new reactor being built at the Dukovany and Temelín nuclear sites, with a probable total of four new reactors in the long term at the two locations. Priority for construction of the first reactor will be given to the Dukovany site, where the first of four reactors operating there will probably be shut down in 2035. The Czech Republic has six commercially operational reactor units: four VVER-440 units at the Dukovany site and two VVER-1000 units at Temelín.