Temelín Nuclear Power Station ( cs, Jaderná elektrárna Temelín, abbreviation ''JETE'') is located near Temelín, a small village in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Temelín NPP is owned by ČEZ Group, which employs 1000 workers at this site. The adjacent castle Vysoký Hrádek serves as an information centre. In spring 2003, the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, with its 2,000 MW of installed capacity, became the largest power resource in the Czech Republic.

History

Planning began in the late 1970s and the final project was submitted in 1985. Construction of four operating units began in 1987. The project was expected to be completed in 1991 with estimated building costs of 35 billion Kčs. Six villages were demolished by the then-Communist government to make way for the power station. After the

Velvet revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1990 the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

n government decided to cease construction of the third and fourth reactors. Work continued on the first two reactors; in the 1990s alterations to the original design were made by Westinghouse in conjunction with SUJB and the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...

to bring reliability and safety levels into conformance with Western European standards. The standards audit was carried out by Halliburton NUS. As part of the alterations information and control systems were added, electrical modifications carried out, and cabling, reactor core and fuel elements were replaced. In 1993 the Czech government decided to complete the plant in the face of delays and

cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...

s, with expected completion at the time estimated for 1997. In 1994 an opinion poll reported that 68% of Czech citizens were in favor of nuclear power development. In 1998 construction still was not completed and costs reached 71 CZK billion. The Czech government again reconsidered completion of the plant. In 1999 the decision was made to continue, hoping for an expected completion in 2000 with a maximum cost of 98.6 CZK billion. The project was controversial; national and international (mainly Austrian) opposition was stronger than in the early 1990s. In a 1999 opinion poll 47% of Czech citizens were in favor and 53% against nuclear power development, a fall from 1994. In subsequent years the same poll showed change to 63% in favor and 37% against in 2000 with 58% in favor and 42% against in 2001, indicating fluctuation of opinion. As early as 1993 there were local and international protests against the plant's construction. Large grassroots civil disobedience actions took place in 1996 and 1997. These were organized by the so-called Clean Energy Brigades. In September and October 2000, Austrian

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

protesters demonstrated against the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant and at one stage temporarily blocked all 26 border crossings between Austria and the Czech Republic. The first reactor was finally commissioned in 2000 and the second in 2002. In 2021, Westinghouse was contracted to upgrade the instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in a 9-year project.

Technical data

Most information was taken from ČEZ website Others from leaflet "Energy from South Bohemia" by ČEZ Group and the

PRIS database. In 2013 the reactors were updated from 3000 MW thermal output to 3120 MW output, bringing the total output to 1003 MWe net and 1056 MWe gross. In 2015

turbomachinery Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from ...

was updated, bringing the total output to the current 1026 MWe net and 1080 MWe gross.

The reactor vessel (active zone)

* The reactor contains 163 fuel assemblies. * A single assembly has the shape of ~4.5m long hexagonal and inside are 312 fuel rods and 61 control rods. * The fuel rods contain stacked cylindrical fuel pellets. * Fuel enrichment: max. 4% (average 3.5%) of ²³⁵U (fissile isotope). * Fuel load UO₂: 92t (The reactor splits about 3 kg of uranium every day). * Fuel Replacement cycle: 4 years (1/4 is changed yearly). * Vessel height: ~11m, outside diameter: ~4.5m, wall thickness: 193 mm. * The vessel is designed for up to 17.6MPa at 350 °C. * The vessel is made of high quality, low-alloy chrome-nickel-molybdenum-vanadium steel. * For the reactor to produce 1W of thermal output, 30 billion fissions of uranium-235 must take place every second. For a coal power station to produce the same output 1,500,000,000 billion carbon atoms must be burned.

Reactor cooling system

* Number of cooling loops: 4 * Quantity of primary circuit coolant: 337 m³ * Operating pressure: 15.7MPa * Coolant inlet temperature: approx. 290 °C (554F) * Coolant outlet temperature: approx. 320 °C (608F) * Coolant flow through reactor: 23.5 m³/s

Steam generator

* Number per reactor block: 4 * Steam delivered per one generator: 1470 t/hour * Steam outlet pressure: 6.3MPa * Steam outlet temperature: 278.5 °C (533.3F)

Cooling circuit

* The plant has 4 cooling towers (each reactor has 2 towers). * Each tower has a height of , a diameter of , and an external wall surface area of . * Pure water is evaporated in cooling tower (~0.3m³/s). ** The water needs to be constantly refilled.

Protective Envelope (containment)

* Height of cylindrical section: 38m * Inside diameter of cylindrical section: 45m * Wall thickness: 1.2m * Thickness of steel lining: 8mm

Turbine generator set

* Number per production block: 1 * Number of steam turbine sections: 1 high pressure and 3 low pressure * Speed: 3000 rpm * Voltage on alternator's terminal: 24kV * Alternator cooling: hydrogen – water

Reliability

The

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...

data show that Reactor 1 reaches a cumulative operating factor of about 63%, and Reactor 2 an operating factor of about 76%. The cumulative operating factor figures for Temelín NPP reactors are lower than the figures of similar reactors operated in Russia, where the cumulative operating factor is around 80-87%. ČEZ had increased operating factor and production in recent years and the plant reached 84% in 2012 with a total record production of 15 TWh.

New reactors

Plans to build all four original reactors were reopened in 2005. However, in 2014 the prospective plans were cancelled. In 2007 planning was suspended because a new government agreed not to promote nuclear energy; a

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

was a member of the coalition government. However, in July 2008 ČEZ requested the Ministry of the Environment conduct an

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

for two additional reactors. In 2009 regional approval was granted for the new build. In August 2009, ČEZ sought bids for two

pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...

s (PWRs). Shortly after the Fukushima nuclear accidents, Prime Minister

Petr Nečas Petr Nečas (; born 19 November 1964) is a Czech former politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the Civic Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, and as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1993 to 2013 ...

announced that the construction of new reactors will continue according to the original plans, but with the tender selection delayed to 2013. In July 2012 ČEZ opened bids for the public contract for completing the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant in the presence of the bidders -

Areva Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...

, a consortium of the

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

, LLC and WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC ČR, and a consortium of ŠKODA JS, Atomstroyexport, and

Gidropress OKB Gidropress (russian: ОКБ Гидропресс) is a Russian state construction office which works on the design, analysis, development, and production of nuclear power plant reactors, most notably the VVER range. OKB stands for experimenta ...

. In October 2012 ČEZ informed Areva that they have in their bid failed to meet statutory requirements. Moreover, Areva has not fulfilled some other crucial criteria defined in the tender. Since the award procedure has been conducted in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, Areva's bid had to be excluded from further evaluation. In March 2013, a Russian led consortium, comprising Atomstroyexport, Gidropress and Skoda, signed contracts with the three Czech companies ZAT, HOCHTIEF CZ and UJV Rez, for the construction of the two new nuclear reactor units for Temelín-3 and Temelín-4. The reactors proposed are the MIR-1200 (Modernised International Reactor). ZAT would supply automated systems for the plant, HOCHTIEF CZ would be responsible for construction of the nuclear island, and UJV Rez would help compile project documentation for the nuclear and turbine islands, and also create working documentation for construction of the plant. A statement said the consortium is aiming for a "localisation level" of 75 percent. The other running project for the contract was Westinghouse with its AP1000 reactor. The winner of the contract was scheduled to be announced at the end of 2013. In April 2014, ČEZ cancelled the project after the Czech government stated it does not plan to provide guarantees or other mechanisms to support the construction of low-emission power plants following discussions in the EU. The ČEZ CEO stated:

References

External links

Official info on website of ČEZ

* ttps://www.slideshare.net/myatom/10-years-of-experience-with-westinghouse-fuel-at-npp-temeln 10 Years of Experience with Westinghouse Fuel at NPP Temelin {{DEFAULTSORT:Temelin Nuclear Power Station Nuclear power stations in the Czech Republic České Budějovice District Nuclear power stations using VVER reactors Buildings and structures in the South Bohemian Region Energy infrastructure completed in 2000 2000 establishments in the Czech Republic