CEZ Group’s Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), a wholly owned subsidiary of ČEZ, has received final bids for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Dukovany from three bidders. The suppliers submitted a binding bid for Dukovany Unit 5 and non-binding bids for the other three units. US-Canadian Westinghouse, French EdF and Korean KHNP had until 11 a.m. today to submit their bids. EDU II will now evaluate the bids from economic, commercial, and technical points of view. The evaluation model is set up on the basis of recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We are happy to confirm the strong interest of all three bidders in constructing a new nuclear power plant in Czechia. We have seen careful preparation by all bidders since the tender was launched in March last year. Now we will evaluate the bids and, according to the contract with the state, we will submit the evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and then to the Czech government for final approval,” says Tomáš Pleskač, member of the Board of Directors and Director of ČEZ’s New Energy Division.
The bids were submitted electronically through special encryption and a uniquely secure storage.
It is expected that the contracts will be finalized within the next year. After the final signing of the contracts, the project documentation will be thoroughly prepared so that the new unit will be ready for trial operation in 2036. The new Dukovany unit will be built next to the existing power plant and will replace part of its capacity in the future. The first unit of the Dukovany nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1985.
Support for the development of nuclear power Czechia is above 70%, which is uniquely high in Europe. This is based on a long-term survey conducted by IBRS.
Alongside the tender procedure, the wholly owned subsidiary Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s., (EDU II) is working on other parts of the project. After the Ministry of the Environment issued a positive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) opinion in 2019, it also received a Siting Permit from the State Office for Nuclear Safety and a Generating Plant Authorization from the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2021. The zoning procedure is currently under way, having been applied for by EDU II to the building authority on June 1, 2021.
The most important advantages of nuclear power include ensuring energy stability, low operating costs, i.e., long-term safety of operating nuclear power plants, stable and acceptable prices, and reliability of electricity supply. The ecological aspects are crucial, as emission-free electricity makes a major contribution to combating global warming. Nuclear power generation is not associated with CO2 emissions, so the operation of nuclear power plants contributes significantly to the overall reduction of carbon dioxide emissions—the most important greenhouse gas.
Source: CEZ Group
