Gently does it: Nuclear fuel is loaded into reactor of the third unit at the Mochovce nuclear power plant. (source: TASR)
Commissioning of the third unit of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce, Nitra Region, began shortly after midnight on Friday when operator Slovenské Elektrárne began loading nuclear fuel into its reactor.
“It’s been a long time coming. For some it was a never-ending story, but it’s finally happened,” Prime Minister Eduard Heger said during a visit to the site. “Slovakia is becoming self-sufficient. This is very good news for Slovakia, but also for the whole of Europe.”
The fuel rods should take about four days to load into the reactor. After that, there will be a pressure test and the start of the nuclear reaction is expected in about four weeks, the TASR newswire reported.
Once the unit is running normally, which should happen early next year, Slovakia will generate 65 percent of its electricity using nuclear power, up from about 52 percent at present.
Final approval
The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ÚJD) allowed the commissioning of the reactor for the first time in May last year, but the decision was appealed by an Austrian organisation, Global 2000, which alleged that there were ongoing risks associated with its operation. ÚJD addressed Global 2000's objections and on August 25, 2022, in a nearly 140-page document, it rejected the appeal and finally allowed commissioning of the unit to commence.
The launch of the third reactor at Mochovce was a condition included in an agreement between the government and Slovenské Elektrárne to supply electricity to households in 2023 and 2024 at current prices.
Construction resumed in 2008
Construction of the Mochovce nuclear power plant was launched during the communist regime in the 1980s. The first two units of the plant, based on the Soviet (now Russian) VVER design, were completed and commissioned in 1998 and 2000 respectively. When work resumed on the second two units in late 2008, they were scheduled for completion by 2012 and 2013, at a projected cost of €2.8 billion. Since then the budget has more than doubled to €6.2 billion, the deadline has repeatedly been set back, and the whole construction process has been plagued by allegations of mismanagement.
The installed capacity of the third unit will be 471 megawatts, enough to provide approximately 13 percent of the country's overall electricity consumption. Once the third unit is operating at full power output Slovakia will be self-sufficient in electricity generation.
SE plans to launch operations at Mochovce's fourth unit 23 months after the commissioning of the third unit.
