Requests for information were sent to several nuclear vendors as the country established the Standing Committee for Nuclear Energy and appointed a special representative in charge of nuclear energy. According to Petr Zavodsky, Director of Nuclear Construction at ČEZ Group, the first round of talks with Rosatom is completed. The Russian company has proposed to build a Generation 3+ reactor while project finance options are left to be considered by the Czech government (for more information please read the interview of Rosatom’s Deputy CEO Kirill Komarov).

Other project bidders are Westinghouse (USA), EDF (France), KHNP (South Korea) and Atmea, a joint venture of Areva and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. China’s CGNP also stepped in and wanted the Czech government to award the contract without the bidding. ČEZ admitted that this approach to the project could be much easier.

Temelin or Dukovany

It is yet unclear which of the two sites – Temelin or Dukovany – will be chosen for the project. Announced in 2009, the initial tender provided for Temelin as a venue for the construction of new power units, but the project was subsequently mothballed. One of the then bidders was MIR.1200, a Russian-Czech consortium whose offer was repeatedly mentioned by Czech experts as highly attractive.

Lenka Kovačovská from the Department of Strategy and International Cooperation in Energy at the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that this time the government leaned towards Dukovany. The yet-to-be-built reactors will replace those currently in operation. According to Ms. Kovačovská, the new State Energy Policy provides for the reactors operating at Dukovany to be decommissioned in 2030–2037.

Engaging local businesses as Rosatom’s strong point

The Czech government views energy security and economic benefits for the local community as top priorities of the project, says Lenka Kovačovská. “It is not only the price per kilowatt of installed capacity that matters, but also the vendor’s ability to engage local suppliers both in and outside the Czech Republic,” she noted. Rosatom’s offer provides for the maximum involvement of local businesses in the project. What’s important is that Czech companies are familiar with Russia’s VVER nuclear technology that is used at the country’s both nuclear stations. Czech nuclear engineers have mastered the technology to an extent that they are now capable of independently delivering modernization projects at VVER-based power units.

Rosatom’s Deputy CEO for Corporate Development and International Business Kirill Komarov noted in his interview to the Mladá Fronta Dnes newspaper that Rosatom would take part in the bidding if it was organized by the Czech Republic.