ČEZ of the Czech Republic has been granted a licence to continue operating Temelín 2. The reactor has operated for 20 years and ČEZ hopes for another 40 years of operation at least.

Power lines extend from the Temelin nuclear power plant (Image: ČEZ)

The State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) has announced that it has granted a licence to ČEZ to continue power generation at Temelin 2.

SÚJB said it saw no reason not to do so, having evaluated the documentation provided by ČEZ, which the company said it had been providing for more than six months.

Jan Kruml, director of the power plant, explained: "We had to document how we will monitor the lifespan of important equipment in the coming years or what the investment will be in modernising and strengthening safety."

Some of the documentation covered both reactors at the plant and was submitted when unit 1 went through the same review in 2020. The reactors must undergo this kind of Periodic Safety Assessment every ten years to maintain their operating licences.

"We want to operate both nuclear units for at least 60 years," said Brohdan Zronek, director of nuclear energy at ČEZ.

The two pressurised water reactors at Temelín are VVER-1000 units designed by Russia's Gidropress, which came into operation in 2000 and 2002. They originally had generating capacities of 963 MWe and 930 MWe but after numerous upgrades and improvements they now generate 1027 MWe and 1029 MWe.

Temelín produces about 20% of the Czech Republic's electricity as well as heat to the nearby town of Týn nad Vltavou, while the Dukovany nuclear power plant produces a further 17%. Coal is the next largest source of electricity in the country at 40%, but this is to be phased out by 2038. To support this aim, new reactors are planned at both Temelín and Dukovany.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News