Paks nuclear plant project

This is how the Russians will build Paks II nuclear plant in Hungary

Paks nuclear plant
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó is discussing the timeframe for the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant with executives of Rosatom, the general contractor for the project, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
“With the two new reactors at the Paks nuclear power plant, becoming self-sufficient in electricity supply will become a reality by the end of the decade,” Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook.
 
“The timeframe for the fast-paced work required to achieve this is the subject of talks today and tomorrow: with Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev today, and with Rosatom deputy-CEO and Atomstroyexport chairman Alexander Lokshin tomorrow,” he added.
 
“A number of permits must still be submitted for the investment to enter the implementation phase from May,” Szijjártó said.
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Read alsoTwo new blocks in Paks expected to produce electricity in 2029-2030

Green party: government lobbying for nuclear energy

Power Plant Nuclear Energy
The opposition LMP party is calling on the government and MEPs to reject the European Commission’s draft taxonomy system in connection with the future use of natural gas and nuclear energy, Erzsébet Schmuck, the co-leader of the party, said on Wednesday.
 
Under the classification system which establishes a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities, natural gas investments carried out before 2030 with CO2 emissions below a certain threshold and nuclear energy projects licenced before 2045 would be classified as sustainable, Schmuck told an online press conference.
 
The taxonomy, if accepted, would stand in the way of fulfilling the EU’s climate goals, including conversion to renewable energy, Schmuck said.
 
 
Natural gas and nuclear energy cannot be considered sustainable technologies,
 
she said.
 
Schmuck criticised the Orbán government for “participating heavily” in the European nuclear lobbying to get Brussels to drafting the taxonomy, saying that the Hungarian prime minister “wants to greenwash natural gas and nuclear energy”.
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Read alsoPM Orbán: nuclear energy is cheap and climate-friendly

Two new blocks in Paks expected to produce electricity in 2029-2030

paks nuclear

The project of building two new blocks to the Paks nuclear power plant is being implemented as planned so that they be able to start operations in 2029-2030, Aleksandr Merten, the deputy head of Rosatom-auxiliary ASE engineering, told a panel discussion in Budapest on Monday.

Merten said that works under way targeted the construction of project buildings such as facilities to make concrete and assemble steel parts, warehouses, utilities, and ground works.

Rosatom is also cooperating with Paks II Zrt, the company managing the upgrade, on the documentation work, and waiting to receive the implementation permit, he said.

As well as handling the Paks upgrade project, Rosatom is also strengthening its market position in Hungary, Merten said, noting that the company was working to establish joint ventures with Hungarian partners in the field of nuclear energy, including health care.

Merten suggested that Rosatom has had a good experience with its JV partners so far, which have included energy company MVM.

He said that like France, Hungary, too, played a leading role in the use and development of nuclear energy in the European Union, adding that the other three Visegrad Group countries were also increasing their use of nuclear power.

paks
Read also Construction phase of Paks nuclear plant upgrade to start in 2022

PM Orbán: nuclear energy is cheap and climate-friendly

Rosatom-Russia Orbán
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant and the importance of nuclear energy with Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev in his office on Friday, the PM’s press chief said.
 
Parties at the talks were in agreement that the two new reactor blocks under construction in Paks guaranteed Hungary’s continued supply of cheap and climate-friendly electricity.

They agreed that at the time of Europe’s energy crisis, nuclear energy played an even more important role not just when it came to energy security, but also in ensuring price stability and the ability to preserve the government’s scheme to cap utility bills.

The talks also touched on the
 
trend of European Union countries recognising that it was impossible to reach the bloc’s climate protection goals without a long-term investment in nuclear energy alongside renewable resources.
 
The parties also reviewed the status of the Paks upgrade project, and noted their goal to have the two new blocks up and running by 2029 and 2030, respectively, in line with the strictest Hungarian and international safety standards.
 
Friday’s meeting was also attended by Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, and János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks upgrade.
Rosatom-Russia Orbán
Read alsoPM Orbán: nuclear energy is cheap and climate-friendly

Hungarian FM: the key to the success of the Visegrád Group is ‘common sense’

Péter Szijjártó Foreig Minister of Hungary

A key of the success of the Visegrád Group (V4) countries has been that they have based their economic and security policies on “common sense”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a video message to a joint V4 parliamentary committee meeting on Friday.

The grouping comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia is “the closest, most effective and most successful” alliance within the European Union today, the minister said.

In recent years the four countries have achieved results together that they could not have on their own, he added.

Szijjártó highlighted the V4’s thwarting of the introduction of mandatory migrant quotas as the group’s biggest achievement. If Brussels’s “crazy proposal” had not been rejected, there would be tens or hundreds of thousands of migrants on the territory of the V4 countries today, he said.

read also: FM Szijjártó: EU energy policy is overly politicised, even though statements will not heat homes

Szijjártó praised the V4 as an “extremely strong and competitive region”. This, he said, was demonstrated by the fact that if the grouping were a single state, it would be the third most populous EU country and the world’s 15th largest economy.

One of the main reasons for the region’s success is the use of “common sense” in economic and security policy, Szijjártó said. He praised the advantages of low tax rates when it comes to attracting international investment and job creation.

read also: V4, Morocco foreign ministers held talks in Budapest

Tax policy, he said, should remain a national competence, adding that the V4 must insist on that element of their sovereignty. Hungary will carry on with its tax cuts “even if some don’t like it”, he said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the EU had also made several mistakes in the area of energy security. He said the details of the European Green Deal had not been fleshed out thoroughly enough and that the document was being used more as a “political communication tool”.

Szijjártó said the government considered environmental protection important, adding, at the same time, that it was crucial to “remain sensible” in this area as well. The minister said it had been a “big mistake” to turn Europeans against natural gas and nuclear energy.

read also: Minister: green future impossible without nuclear energy

More than 70 percent of Hungary’s electricity demand will be supplied by the country’s nuclear power plant in Paks by the end of the decade, he said, noting that Hungary had recently signed a new long-term gas purchase agreement with Russia’s Gazprom.

As regards migration, Szijjártó said EU member states should insist on their right to determine who can and cannot enter their territory.

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Read alsoBelarusian dictator’s confidant travelled with a Hungarian visa

Construction phase of Paks nuclear plant upgrade to start in 2022

paks
The construction phase of the Paks nuclear plant upgrade project is set to get under way in 2022, János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the project, said on Friday.
 
Before construction on the two new reactor blocks can begin, however, Hungary’s National Atomic Energy Authority (OAH) has to issue the implementation permit for the project and several other permits must also be obtained, Suli told the Tolna County assembly in southern Hungary.

The application for a manufacturing permit for the reactor vessel was submitted to the authority last month, which it has five months to assess, he said. Süli noted that the OAH had asked Paks II Zrt, the company managing the upgrade, to resolve a discrepancy in its implementation permit application.
 
“But what’s more important than the deadline is that the blocks function safely with high production indicators for 60 years,” the minister said. Work on the construction pit is expected to start early next year and the concrete cover is set to be completed in mid-2023, he said.
 
The amendment to the project’s financing agreement has been approved by both the Hungarian and the Russian parliaments, Süli said. “We definitely aim to have the new reactors operational by 2029-2030,” he added.

Minister: green future impossible without nuclear energy

Paks nuclear plant
Climate protection, a green future and low utility bills are not possible without nuclear energy, János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks nuclear plant upgrade project, said at the Planet Budapest 2021 sustainability expo and world conference on Wednesday.
 
The Hungarian government’s goal is to build two new state-of-the-art blocks that meet the strictest safety standards at the Paks plant, which could contribute to Hungary’s carbon-free electricity production for decades to come, Süli said in his presentation.
 
The government made the responsible decision when it made a long-term commitment to nuclear energy alongside renewable resources, the minister said, arguing that this decision was critical to the country’s energy security.
 
Süli noted that one-third of Hungary’s electricity demand is supplied by the Paks plant.
 
 
The four Visegrád Group countries “have chosen the sustainable path” by using nuclear power, Süli said, noting a study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which named nuclear power as the most climate-friendly energy source. According to the UNECE’s calculations, nuclear energy uses less land, requires less raw materials and results in lower CO2 emissions than renewable resources, he said.
 
Meanwhile, he said rising utility prices were a growing burden on European households, noting that Hungarians were paying one-third of what Berlin residents were paying for electricity, and the lowest price in the European Union.
Power Plant Nuclear Energy
Read alsoV4 countries back nuclear energy for climate protection

V4 countries back nuclear energy for climate protection

Power Plant Nuclear Energy

The Visegrád Group countries have signed a joint declaration that achieving climate goals cannot happen without nuclear energy, according to government website kormany.hu on Thursday.    

The combined use of nuclear and renewable energy is vital for energy sovereignty and security, keeping energy prices affordable and decarbonising energy production, Janos Suli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks nuclear plant upgrade project, said, speaking alongside representatives of the Czech, Polish and Slovak governments in Paks, in southern Hungary.

The V4 calls for greater energy efficiency and, as well as

increasing the share of renewable energy sources,

meeting the 2030 and 2050 carbon targets would require the development of electricity transmission networks and the use of gas-fired power plants in the medium term, as well as the flexible use of carbon quotas, it added.

The V4 welcomed the European Commission’s statement that nuclear energy is a safe technology and in full compliance with EU environmental standards. Brussels, the declaration added, should treat nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source, also from the point of view of financing, it added.

Read alsoHungary committed to building hydrogen economy, says technology ministry

Green opposition party accuses govt of secrecy on Paks nuclear power plant upgrade

Power Plant Nuclear Energy

Publicity, professionalism and security are the most important principles in the use of nuclear energy, yet the government has chosen secrecy, outsourcing and political control, the leader of the opposition LMP party’s parliamentary group said on Saturday.

Speaking at an online press conference, László Lóránt Keresztes said the government is unwilling to admit that it has made seriously wrong decisions and it is ready to take further ones.

In addition, “substantive information (.) has been classified in connection with the failure to secure a permission for the Paks II [upgrade] project,” he said.

They make wrong decisions such as licensing excavation work in the absence of key permissions, Keresztes said.

Hungarian green party slams ‘disappointing’ COP 26 summit

Hungarian Atomic Energy Office independent from 2022?

The government has reached a dead end over the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods. The decisions made in the recent period are especially detrimental to the city of Pecs and Baranya County, he said.

If the government keeps hiding information, LMP will resort to legal means to finally inform the Hungarian public about the state of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion.

The opposition party is convinced that the project should not be negotiated in Moscow, behind closed doors, he added. LMP is of the view that the deeply flawed project should be stopped, Keresztes said.

József Kóbor, LMP’s municipal councillor of Pecs, said the disposal of radioactive waste is a huge problem throughout Europe.

paks
Read alsoNew Paks power plant blocks paid with Russian loan could start commercial operation in 2029

Hungarian and French FMs discuss military support in Africa to stop migration

Szijjártó and French Foreign Minister

Hungary is ready to increase its contribution to ensuring security in Africa, since curbing the threat of terrorism there would also ease the migration pressure on Europe, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday, after meeting his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian in Budapest.

There is a 20-strong Hungarian contingent serving in the EU’s training mission in Mali, Szijjártó told a joint press conference. Hungary is ready to increase that number four-fold by sending troops to serve in Task Force Takuba, the EU unit supporting the country’s army, he said. The government will soon ask for parliament’s approval on that scheme, Szijjártó added.

Although Hungary and France don’t always see eye to eye on European issues, they successfully cooperate on others, he said.

One such area is ensuring the security of European citizens, especially after the “Afghanistan failure” has increased the threat of growing migration, Szijjártó said.

One way to ease the migration pressure on the EU in the near future is to curb the terror threat in the Sahel region, he said.

Another shared interest of Hungary and France is energy safety through nuclear energy, Szijjártó said. The two countries stand united against discrimination against nuclear energy at European forums, he said. Several French companies are contributors in the upgrade of Hungary’s sole nuclear plant in Paks, he said.

 

Nuclear energy is key to achieving climate goals, Szijjártó said.

Regarding economic cooperation, Szijjártó noted that French companies are the fourth largest group of investors in Hungary. Even during the coronavirus-related crisis, seven of those companies used the government’s investment support fund to realise investments worth a total of HUF 7 billion (€ 20 million), protecting some 3,000 jobs, he said.

The Hungarian Armed Forces have bought 36 helicopters from Airbus, which is also building a plant in Gyula, in southeast Hungary. Hungary and France have also agreed on strategic cooperation in space industry, he said.   

Le Drian welcomed Hungary’s participation in Takuba, and noted the importance of the fight against terrorism, of strengthening European security and strategic autonomy.

New Paks power plant blocks paid with Russian loan could start commercial operation in 2029

paks

Two new blocks at Paks could start commercial operation in 2029 and in 2030, the minister in charge of the expansion of Hungary’s sole commercial nuclear power plant said at a meeting of the Tolna County Council on Friday.

János Süli said the two blocks would have a six- to eight-month test run before starting commercial operation.

He noted that an application for the implementation licence for the two blocks had been submitted to the National Atomic Energy Office (OAH) by project company Paks II on June 30, 2020. The office has twelve months to review the application with an option for a three-month extension, which means the licence should be issued by the end of September 2021, he added.

The state of Russia is financing 80 percent of the 12.5 billion euro cost of the blocks.

The general contractor for the upgrade is Russia’s Rosatom. The Paks plant’s existing four blocks, each with a nominal capacity of 500MW, account for about half of domestic electricity generation.

Hungarian Atomic Energy Office independent from 2022?

The government has submitted a bill to parliament that would make the National Atomic Energy Office (OAH) independent of the executive branch from 2022, an official of the innovation and technology ministry told the daily Magyar Nemzet on Saturday.

The OAH’s reorganisation would create a strong authority free of outside influence, state secretary Tamás Schanda said.

Explaining the reason for the planned change, Schanda said Brussels had often questioned the adequacy of the OAH being under government control, emphasising the need for the office to operate independently.

Under the bill, the OAH, as an independent regulatory body, would obtain an independent legal status and would be overseen by parliament, Schanda said.

The change will give the OAH the highest degree of independence, as warranted by its functions, the state secretary said.

It will also have greater organisational, regulatory and budgetary autonomy, “dispelling doubts over the body’s independence once and for all”, he added.

atomic energy paks radioactive
Read alsoCause for concern? – Nuclear waste stored in plastic bags in Hungary

EU climate policy risks sidelining nuclear power, Hungary and other six countries say

nuclear-reactors atom

France, Hungary and five other countries have written to the European Commission, warning that EU climate change policies could hamper nuclear power’s role in cutting CO2 emissions.

The letter, dated March 19, arrived as Brussels is finishing landmark green finance legislation designed to steer cash into low-carbon projects, with the Commission yet to decide whether the EU rules will label nuclear power as a sustainable investment.

In the letter to the Commission, seen by Reuters, the countries said the EU should do more to put nuclear power on a level footing with other low-carbon technologies in climate policies, including the sustainable finance rules.

“We are highly concerned that the Member State’s right to choose between different energy sources and the right to determine the general structure of the energy supply is currently heavily limited by EU policy making, which excludes nuclear power from more and more policies,” they said.

It was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

EU leaders in December agreed to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% of 1990 levels by 2030 – a goal the Commission says will require extra energy sector investments of 350 billion euros a year this decade.

While nuclear technologies are eligible for EU research funding, the countries said a focus on technologies that will take decades to become commercially viable risked sidelining near-term projects.

EU countries are divided over nuclear, which produces roughly a quarter of EU electricity from the 13 states that use it.

Supporters promote its low CO2 emissions, while opponents raise concerns over hazardous waste, and the delays and spiralling costs of recent projects.

France generates around 70% of its electricity from nuclear. The other countries behind the letter use the fuel – which comprises roughly 56% of power produced in Slovakia, 48% in Hungary and 35% in Czech Republic – except for Poland, which wants to build reactors to reduce its dependency on coal.

The Commission said it could not confirm receipt of the letter.

“We have a neutral position on that as the European Commission,”

EU climate policy head Frans Timmermans said of nuclear power at an online event hosted by the University of Pittsburgh this month.

EU states should compare nuclear’s costs and benefits to those of renewable sources when considering new reactors, Timmermans said.

in 2014, Hungary picked Russian state nuclear company Rosatom to build two 1,200 Mw reactors for 12.5 billion euros. The state of Russia is financing 80% of the cost of the two blocks. The Hungarian government signed the contract without a tender. 

Here is all informations about Paks nuclear plant project

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LMP calls for cancelling Paks nuclear power station expansion contract

Paks nuclear plant

Opposition LMP has submitted a bill to parliament with the aim of cancelling the contract for expanding Hungary’s sole nuclear power station in Paks, the party’s group leader said on Thursday.

“Nuclear energy is neither cheap nor safe,” László Loránt Keresztes said in Pécs, in southern Hungary, on the tenth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. LMP wants preparatory works for the expansion project to be stopped, he added.

There is a consensus developing among Hungary’s opposition parties that the contract for the Paks project should be cancelled, he said.

The LMP politician insisted that arguments in support of expanding the facility and inviting a Russian contractor without a tender had proven null and void, adding that the project had been delayed by several years due to foot-dragging by the Russian partner.

Also, he said it “turned out to be a lie that electricity would be cheap once the project is completed”. The cost of treating and storing radioactive nuclear waste has not been incorporated into cost estimates, he said.

“There is no solution to this anywhere in the world,” he added.

Keresztes said it was “unacceptable” that the government was assessing the possibility of creating a nuclear waste disposal facility near Pécs, in the Mecsek hills.

orbán with rosatom head
Read alsoOrbán discusses Paks upgrade with Rosatom Director-General

Dunaújváros University set to become Hungary’s centre for nuclear tech

due nuclear training

The University of Dunaújváros (C Hungary) is set to become Hungary’s centre for training and development in the field of nuclear technology, the Innovation and Technology Ministry said on Friday.

Innovation and Technology Minister Lászóo Palkovics, minister without portfolio in charge of the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant János Süli, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade state secretary Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich met with University of Dunaújváros leaders on Friday to discuss the school’s future after its senate decided to make the switch from a state-run institution to a university operated by a foundation.

Süli said the university could play a “key role” in the development of Hungary’s nuclear industry in future, in addition to continuing its earlier functions.

Pacsay-Tomassich said a nuclear knowledge centre being established at the university would combine practical and theoretical instruction in a singular manner, raising Hungary’s international profile in the field.

The government recently introduced the foundation model for universities with the aim of establishing a more flexible, more predictable operating environment, while boosting universities’ competitiveness.

So far, 15 of the almost 30 state universities in Hungary have already made the switch or decided they want to be run by foundations.

Read alsoHungary welcomes new US-Russia nuclear arms control pact

Hungary welcomes new US-Russia nuclear arms control pact

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Thursday welcomed an agreement between the United States and Russia to extend a treaty limiting the deployment of nuclear weapons.

In a Facebook post, Szijjártó noted that the US and Russia on Wednesday agreed to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty until 2026.

“This is good news for the world and good news for central Europe,” the minister said.

“Those of us who live here in central Europe are aware of our historical experiences,” Szijjártó said.

“The more balanced and fair relations are between the West and the East, the more secure our region will be …”

Szijjártó expressed hope that there would be many similar agreements in the future to improve international cooperation.

Paks nuclear plant
Read alsoPaks 2 nuclear power plant gets energy office permit

Orbán discusses Paks upgrade with Rosatom Director-General

orbán with rosatom head

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday met Aleksey Likhachev, the Director-General of Russian energy giant Rosatom, to discuss the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, the PM’s press chief has said.

The construction of two new blocks at the plant is proceeding according to schedule, and in compliance with Hungarian and European Union regulations, the meeting confirmed. In June, contractors applied for the construction permit of the National Atomic Energy Authority (OAH), and obtained the permit of the Hungarian energy office in November, Bertalan Havasi said.

Construction of the nuclear blocks is expected to start next autumn, they said.

Participants of the meeting agreed that a domestic source of cheap, reliable and clean energy is key to Hungary’s competitiveness. Nuclear and sustainable resources are also essential for the country to achieve its climate protection goals, they said.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks upgrade, also attended the meeting, as did Alexander Merten, the deputy head of the Rusatom International Network and Vladimir Sergeev, Russia’s Ambassador to Hungary.

Paks nuclear plant
Read alsoPaks 2 nuclear power plant gets energy office permit

3rd Budapest Energy Summit international conference goes virtual today

Daily News Hungary

Hungary has made significant progress in the area of energy diversification, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Tuesday, opening the third Budapest Energy Summit international conference.

Péter Szijjártó said energy supplies were always a critical issue in central Europe, and the countries of the region were making significant progress to diversify their energy resources. Energy supplies are also a matter of national security in the region, he added.

Infrastructure is historically defined, with East-West networks being more developed than North-South networks, an issue that needs to be addressed, he said.

Liquefied gas will be part of Hungary’s energy mix as the LNG terminal in Krk, in Croatia, comes online in January,

he said, adding that Hungary has reserved an annual 1 billion cubic metres of LNG from this terminal starting in January 2021, enabling the country to sign a long-term gas supply contract with Shell which does not involve Russian sources, he said.

Szijjártó also said that

the Paks 2 nuclear power station upgrade was progressing well.

The government is dedicated to clean, efficient and modern energy supplies, and rejects negative discrimination against nuclear energy, he added. Without nuclear energy, it would be impossible to meet the CO2 emissions targets, he said.

Hungary is dedicated to the European Union’s targets and is one of 21 countries that has increased economic output while cutting CO2 emissions in the past ten years, Szijjártó said.

Progress has also been made in securing electricity supplies, with two new Slovak interconnectors coming online next year and the final phase of the construction of a Slovenia-Hungary interconnector already under way, he added.

Construction of a 50 km pipeline has started on the Serbian-Hungarian border which will give access to the southern gas corridor, including Azerbaijani, central Asian gas and Greek LNG gas, he said.

 The Budapest Energy Summit will go virtual this year, live streaming here!

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