Temelín Nuclear Power Station
Template:Infobox Nuclear power plant
The Temelín Nuclear Power Station is located by Temelín, a village in the Czech Republic. It is operated by state-owned company ČEZ with 1,000 employees. Castle Vysoký Hrádek, located next to the power plant, serves as an information centre.
History
The first plans for the power station were drafted in late 1980s, final project was submitted in 1985, construction of operating units began in 1987. After the Velvet revolution in 1989 a decision was made to build only two reactors instead of the previously planned four. The first reactor was commissioned in 2000 and the second one in 2002.[1]
In the 1990s, several alterations to the original design were made to raise the power station's reliability and safety to the West-European standards by Westinghouse (USA).
In September and October 2000, anti-nuclear Austrian protesters demonstrated against the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant and at one stage temporarily blocked all 26 border crossings between Austria and the Czech Republic.[2][3]
Technical data
| Station | Reactor type | Net capacity | Initial criticality | Grid date | Exp. shutdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temelín 1 | VVER 1000/320 | 980 MWe | Dec 2000 | Jun 2002 | 2042 |
| Temelín 2 | VVER 1000/320 | 1020 We | Dec 2002 | Apr 2003 | 2043 |
The plant has four cooling towers with a height of 150 metres (490 ft). The diameter of each amounts to 130 metres (430 ft), the external wall has a surface of 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft).
The reactor vessel contains 163 fuel assemblies, each with 313 fuel rods, and 61 regulating rods.
New reactors
Plans to build all four original reactors have been reopened in 2005. In 2006, the plans for nuclear expansion had suspended because a new coalition government agreed not to promote nuclear energy. However, in July 2008 ČEZ requested the Ministry of the Environment conduct an environmental impact assessment (of two additional reactors).[4]
See also
- Dukovany Nuclear Power Station — another nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic
References
- ^ Ekolist
- ^ Anti-nuclear protest on Czech border
- ^ Austrian anti-nuclear protests continue
- ^ "CEZ requests EIA for expansion of Temelin". World Nuclear News. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-08-09.