Temelin Nuclear Power Plant
Temelin nuclear power plant is based on old Soviet-design reactors (VVER-1000); its construction started in 1984. After the political changes, it was decided that the project would be upgraded to a certain extent by Westinghouse Corp. According to the original Communist plan, agreed upon by the Czech government, the plant's first reactor was to be finished by the end of 1990 and the budget was 35 billion CZK ($1.2 billion). The new, democratic government decided in 1993 to go on with the construction of two reactors, stating the new deadline for the first reactor was the end of 1995 and budget as 68.8 billion Czech Crowns ($2.5 billion).
Numerous independent studies have proven that the construction of a new 2,000 MW power plant was unnecessary. Among the authors of these studies, one can find such respected institutions as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Tractebel.
There are also other independent studies, like that of Power International, that stress the fact that the Temelin project is not least-cost, because many linked costs have been ignored. As a conclusion, these studies suggest that other solutions to the electricity market in Czech Republic be implemented, which include potentials energy savings (1,200 to 5,000 MW), combined heat and electricity generation (1,500 to 6,000 MW), energy from independent producers (3,300-3,900 MW), and renewables (wind 300-600 MW, small scale water 400-800 MW, biomass 500-1,000 MW). Importantly, the Tractebel "least cost study was used to justify the Temelin project, but even this study showed that energy efficiency was more cost effective than Temelin, but the authors were not permitted to
use demand side solutions in their recommendations.
The Temelin project, even with Westinghouse's safety upgrades, could never be licensed according to the current safety standards valid in Western countries. There are many technical weak points than can never be upgraded at a reasonable cost, like insufficient containment, a small reactor vessel leading to early embrittlement and other serious defects. In 1992, an independent audit by Halliburton NUS discovered many problems on the site: poor organization; a weak quality control programme; improper and lacking documentation. Although these mistakes were supposed to be corrected promptly, as late as 1994 the SUJB (the Czech version of the NRC -
Nuclear Regulatory Committee) lists the same problems.
There is a serious problem of failed democratic process at Temelin. The project is being built despite a request by the majority (58 of 65) villages in the region demanded that it be stopped. Petitions signed by over 60,000 people have neven been commented on by the Czech government. The construction license is based on an old Soviet design, now modified to a large extent. There has never been a new licensing process for these modifications; the legality of the whole project is thus brought into question. And there has never been a public discussion about the environmental impact of the plant (EIA),
that should be, according to current Czech laws, initiated as a
result of the serious project modifications.
And last but not least, the public has been allowed basically no access to documentation linked with the project, from safety analyses to even studies of its environmental impact.