Javor: New evidence shows Paks nuclear plant poses serious risk – Update

Budapest (MTI) – The Paks nuclear upgrade is financially risky and a project which threatens to destabilise the electricity network and cause serious environmental problems, Benedek Javor, an MEP of the opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party, said, commenting on new documents he had obtained concerning the upgrade.

Citing a copy of an internal analysis by the Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) and other documents from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), Javor told a press conference that these provided proof that Paks 2’s compatibility with Hungary’s electricity system was questionable. He said the government had “very good reasons” not to publish analysis on this subject, but declined to reveal from where he obtained these documents.

The MVM document includes recommendations from an internal group of experts based on an updated feasibility study from May 2014. He said the study is “generally of very low standard, full of wrong or outdated pre-conceptions and calculations based on unrealistic market conditions.”

Two other reports from the MTA reveal that the 2400 MW electricity to be generated by Paks 2 will not be fit to link up to the Hungarian electricity system, Javor insisted.

He said if built, Paks 2 will require further costly investment to work, and it will oust the existing blocks from production, bringing the usage rate of these blocks down to 60 percent from the current 90 percent. He added that it is possible that two or even three blocks from the current four will have to be shut down to prevent “a collapse of the Hungarian electricity system”.