The Dukovany NPP in the Czech Republic is planning to modernise its turbine halls to extend operation to 60 years. The scope and costs of the entire project should be detailed by the end of 2026. Plant owner/operator ČEZ said new technologies can reduce operating costs as well as increase equipment performance and reliability.
Work, which should start in 2030, could involve replacement of key parts of turbines as well as preparation for heat supplies to Brno. ČEZ and municipal heating company Teplárny Brno in 2024 signed agreements for a 42-kilometre heating pipeline from the Dukovany NPP to the city of Brno.
“After forty years of operation, we need to restore some parts of the secondary circuit and we need to have long-term spare parts. And given progress in the development of turbines, there is an opportunity for modernisation, which can bring a further increase in performance,” said Dukovany Director Roman Havlín.
Nuclear currently provides about a third of the Czech Republic’s electricity. The two VVER-1000 units at Temelín began operation in 2000 and 2002, and the four VVER-440 units at Dukovany between 1985 and 1987.
ČEZ has already managed to increase the output of each of the Dukovany units from the original 440 MWe to 512 MWe. These modifications, together with the increase in the output of Temelín production units from 981 MWe to 1086 MWe, resulted in the equivalent of constructing a smaller nuclear unit. Modernisation of the turbine halls should continue this trend.
“This is one of the largest upcoming projects for our existing nuclear power plants,” explained Bohdan Zronek, ČEZ board member and director of the nuclear energy division. “We always have to assess the benefits and costs very carefully, the project simply has to pay off. That’s why preparation is so difficult.”
There are also plans for significant turbine hall modernisation at the Temelín NPP, which could include replacement of the steam generators.
