The contract for the construction of two new nuclear units was signed after the Supreme Administrative Court annulled the preliminary injunction of the Regional Court in Brno, which had suspended the signing of the contract. The Czech government discussed and approved the conclusion of the contract for the turnkey delivery of two units of the Dukovany II nuclear power plant on May 7.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) issued a final decision for Elektrárna Dukovany II. This zoning decision was issued on 30 October 2023 and all appeals have now been resolved. This step represents another important milestone in the preparation of the construction of new nuclear power plants. The application for the zoning decision was originally submitted in June 2021 to the Construction Department of the Trebic Municipality, but following a change in the Construction Act in July 2023, the administrative procedure was transferred to the MIT.

The government has taken another significant step towards the construction of new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. At its meeting on Wednesday 17 July 2024, it confirmed the selection of the preferred supplier for this strategically important project, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company (KHNP). Based on the bids from two bidders, France's EdF and Korea's KHNP, and their careful evaluation, the government also decided to start negotiations on the construction of two units at the Dukovany site and on the possibility of contracting binding options for additional new sources at Temelin.

Elektrárna Dukovany II, a.s. has received supplemented bids for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Dukovany. The contractors have submitted updated bids for Dukovany Block 5 as well as for the other three blocks. French EdF and Korean KHNP had until 30 April 2024 to submit their bids.

EDU II will now assess the bids from an economic, commercial and technical point of view. The evaluation model is based on the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA/IAEA).

On 31 October, Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s. received the final bids for the construction of the new nuclear power plant in Dukovany from three bidders (US-Canadian Westinghouse, French EdF and Korean KHNP). The bids were submitted electronically, through special encryption and uniquely secure storage.

The next step for EDU II will be to assess the bids from an economic, commercial and technical points of view.

Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s. received bids from all three bidders for the construction of the new nuclear source at Dukovany. The bids were submitted French company EDF, Korean company KHNP and US-Canadian company Westinghouse.

The bids are now being analysed by experts, and negotiations with the bidders will follow.

The tender for the selection of the main supplier of the Dukovany II project has been opened! Three companies were invited  – EDF, KHNP, and Westinghouse. The bidders were sent tender documentation with thousands of requirements for the project. In addition to technical, commercial, and economic requirements, there are also requirements concerning the strategic security of the Czech state.

The subject of the application in Site Decision proceedings is the construction and operation of a New Nuclear Source at the Dukovany Site with net power capacity of up to 2400 MWe (up to 2 blocks with a capacity of 1200 Mwe each), including all related, conditional, and necessitated investments (buildings) related to the construction and operation.  There are a total of 12 sets of documents required for the issuance of the Site Decision permit.  The documentation including all appendices and applications was submitted to the competent building authority at the Municipal Authority in Třebíč.

In line with the Energy Act, an authorisation for a power generation unit has been issued for the new block at Dukovany.  In this process, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assesses whether the contemplated project complies with the State Energy Policy.

The State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) issued a siting license to place two units at the Dukovany site.  A total of five calls were sent by the SÚJB to Elektrárna Dukovany II over the course of twelve months.  The shortcomings identified in all five calls were promptly remedied by EDUII. 

More than 30 experts from Elektrárna Dukovany II participated in the preparation of the nearly 1,600 pages of documentation for the siting license  for the New Nuclear Source at Dukovany, and several dozen other ČEZ employees provided their expert consultation.  More than 200 expert studies were cited in the preparation of the documentation and served as a basis for the conclusions.

Elektrárna Dukovany II applied for a siting license for the New Nuclear Source at the Dukovany site, consisting of two nuclear facilities, each with one pressurised water reactor with a nominal heat capacity of up to 3500 MWt, with the corresponding power capacity of 1200 MWe.  The final decision as to whether the construction of two or one nuclear facilities will take place will be the subject of subsequent stages of the preparation of the NNS at EDU.

On 30 August 2019, the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, on the basis of the EIA documentation, the comments submitted to it, a public hearing, and an expert opinion, issued an affirmative binding statement on the environmental impact assessment of the project. The statement includes a number of conditions for limiting or eliminating the environmental and public health impacts of the project, which must be complied with during the preparation, construction and operation phases of the project, as well as during subsequent monitoring and analysis of the environmental impacts of the project.  The statement is valid for 7 years from its date of issue.  The statement is a necessary basis for the issuance of a decision in subsequent proceedings (Site Decision and Construction Permit proceedings).

In connection with the planned construction of a new nuclear block at the Dukovany site, a public hearing was held in Budapest, Hungary, on 3 May 2018, based on the requirements of Hungarian legislation. There were also hearings for the public (but not hearings as defined by law) held in Austria (Vienna, 6 June 2018) and Germany (Munich, 13 June 2018).

Naturally, there was also a public hearing in the Czech Republic, organised by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic on 19 June 2018, held in Třebíč, giving everyone the opportunity to submit their questions and comments regarding the environmental impact assessment of the new nuclear source at Dukovany.

EIA documentation has been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, which published it and sent it out for commenting, to the entities and persons concerned. In this way, the Ministry obtained comments from the entities concerned (e.g., the SONF, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, regional authorities, etc.), the self-governing territorial units (municipalities and regional governments), and the general public.

At the end of July 2016, Elektrárna Dukovany II submitted its notice of intent to the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, formally commencing the discovery procedure in the environmental impact assessment process.  The objective of the discovery procedure is to specify the information (contents and scope) that should be included in the attending documentation of the project’s environmental impact (“EIA documentation”).  In the discovery procedure, the Ministry of the Environment received comments from the administrative authorities concerned (the State Office for Nuclear Safety, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, regional authorities, etc.), from the self-administering units concerned (municipalities and regional governments), and from the general public nationally and abroad.

Following the establishment of Elektrárna Dukovany II, work was commenced on surveys on the site in order to investigate the characteristics of the site for the purpose of environmental impact assessment, permit or planning proceedings, and other licensing and permitting processes.  The areas of geotechnics, hydrogeology, tectonics, seismicity, biology, meteorology, hydrology, and many other areas that may have an impact on nuclear safety were investigated.

In response to the Updated State Energy Policy and the National Action Plan – documents of the Ministry of Industry and Trade that clearly describe the direction in which the Czech energy sector should go in the upcoming decades – ČEZ establishes a new subsidiary, Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDUII for short), whose sole objective is the preparation of the project and implementation of the construction of a New Nuclear Source at the Dukovany.  Petr Závodský became the CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of EDUII.

This commenced the preparatory work on the project of the New Nuclear Source at the Dukovany Site!