Dukovany Nuclear Power Station
The Dukovany Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant near Dukovany, a village in the Czech Republic.
Dukovany Nuclear Power Station | |
---|---|
Dukovany Nuclear Power Station | |
Country | Czech Republic |
Coordinates | 49°05′06″N 16°08′56″E |
Construction began | 1974 |
Construction cost | Kčs 25 billion |
Owner(s) | |
Operator(s) | CEZ Group |
Nuclear power station | |
Reactor type | VVER-440 |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 4 x 505 MW |
Nameplate capacity | 2020 MW |
Capacity factor | 84.7% |
Annual net output | 14,990 GW·h |
External links | |
Website | The Dukovany Nuclear Power Station |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
It was the second nuclear power plant in Czechoslovakia (the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant in what is now Slovakia was constructed in 1958), and the first one in what is now the Czech Republic. It is situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the city of Třebíč, near the Dalešice Reservoir, where the plant sources its water supply. In 1970 Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union ratified a contract for construction of two nuclear power plants. Actual construction work began four years later. From 1985 to 1987, four power units with pressurized water reactors were commissioned. All four are still in operation.
Dukovany nuclear power plant supplies approximately 14 TWh of electric energy annually to the national power network.[1] The plant is owned and operated by CEZ Group. The power plant modernisation will successively be carried out to the end of its planned service life.[1]
Plant characteristics
The plant has four reactors. As of December 31, 2011 CEZ reported turbine generator output (gross capacity) as listed below. Net capacity is a baseline estimate only.
Unit | Type | Net capacity | Gross capacity | Initial criticality | Grid date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | VVER-440/213 | 471 MWe | 505 MWe | Feb 1985 | Aug 1985 |
2 | VVER-440/213 | 471 MWe | 505 MWe | Jan 1986 | Sep 1986 |
3 | VVER-440/213 | 471 MWe | 505 MWe | Oct 1986 | May 1987 |
4 | VVER-440/213 | 471 MWe | 505 MWe | Jun 1987 | Dec 1987 |
In 2005, Unit 3 was upgraded to 456 MWe gross capacity, and the same upgrade was made to Unit 1 and Unit 4 in 2007. Unit 3 was further upgraded in 2009 to 500MWe. In total an extra 240 MWe of capacity has been or will be added before 2013 in a comprehensive program of improvements including steam plant replacement, addition of instrumentation and fuel changes.
The reactors are fuelled by uranium dioxide UO2. Fuel is placed in the reactor in 312 fuel assemblies. Each assembly consists of 126 fuel rods with a hermetically sealed fuel.
Dukovany Nuclear Power Station has 8 cooling towers, each 125 metres tall.
West of the facility there is a 136 metre tall guyed tower for monitoring air radioactivity.
In 1994, a visitor information centre was opened at the site.
Power distribution
The power lines leaving Dukovany Nuclear Power Station are mainly installed on delta type pylons. They run to Slavetice substation situated at 49°6'15" N and 16°7'10" E. At this substation the powerline to Dürnrohr in Austria starts.
Plant owner CEZ plans to install a district heating circuit to supply heat to homes and businesses in Brno. A pipeline over 40 kilometres in length could be installed after regional officials have considered CEZ's environmental impact statement for the project, submitted in July 2010.
Replacement
In 2019 the Czech government gave preliminary approval for at least one new nuclear power unit for about 2035 to replace the four units expected to shut down between 2035 and 2037. The financial model proposed is a state guarantee so finance can be obtained at government interest rates, but no subsidy on operating costs or above market-price electricity rates.[2]
Popular culture
The Dukovany reactor complex appears in the video game Tom Clancy's EndWar as a potential battlefield.[3]
See also
- Nuclear power in the Czech Republic
- Energy in the Czech Republic
- Temelín Nuclear Power Station - another nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic
- Dalešice Reservoir - nearby reservoir that supplies cooling water and the Dalešice Hydro Power Plant
References
- "The Dukovany Nuclear Power Station". cez.cz. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- "Czech state to back new nuclear units". World Nuclear News. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- Ubisoft (2008). "Locations". Ubisoft. Retrieved 1 April 2011.