The representatives of South Bohemia approved the establishment of the South Bohemia Nuclear Park at their meeting today. The small modular reactor in Temelín will be the first facility of its kind in the Czech Republic. “Nuclear energy in the world is moving towards a form where nuclear reactors no longer need to be massive encased in hundreds of tons of concrete. Small modular reactors are being developed, the place of which will take a area approximately the size of a football field. I believe that similar reactors will be built in Europe in the future, which will provide electricity to regions or cities,” said South Bohemian Governor Martin Kuba (ODS).
The current government coalition Together (ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09) and Pirates with Mayors and Independents (STAN) has program support for the research and development of smaller modular reactors and the Czech Republic’s participation in international that cooperation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines small, medium and large reactors according to electrical output. Reactors up to 300 MWe (electric power of the generator) are classified as small reactors.
According to Kuba, the South Bohemia Nuclear Park will create a background for scientists, experts and developers who will create the conditions for the approval of the SMR in the Czech Republic. Today similar licensing processes are offered by US companies. “I would like to see a center established in South Bohemia that will play a major role in the field of these technologies in the future,” said the governor.
In addition, according to him, SMR offers an economically more affordable alternative to a classic nuclear power plant. The cost of building a small modular rector is many times less. “A classic, large nuclear power plant is limited by the huge construction work and the hundreds of tons of steel and concrete inside it. But of course even with small modular reactors the same safety must be maintained or even improve against large nuclear power plants. So we are moving to a situation where reactors will be smaller and easier to build,” Kuba said. SMRs could also solve the Czech Republic’s dependence on Russian gas and the transition to emission-free energy. A small modular reactor could be in Temelín by 2034.