Czech nuke plant Temelin to make planned shutdown of unit 1 on Friday

Temelin, South Bohemia, April 14 (CTK) - Czech nuclear power plant Temelin will on Friday make a scheduled shutdown of its first unit for about two months during which technicians will replace roughly a quarter of fuel and check security systems, Temelin spokesman Marek Svitak told CTK in a press release today.

Temelin will make 62 investments and carry out almost 16,000 tasks during the shutdown, Svitak said.

The plant will shut unit 1 down on Friday evening when the reactor will run at about a third of its capacity. It is a standard shutdown, according to the management.

Technicians will replace 42 out of 163 fuel assemblies. The fresh fuel will be from Russian company TVEL, Svitak told CTK, adding that Temelin has all the necessary assemblies in its storage facility. As of 2024, nuclear fuel for Temelin will be supplied by US company Westinghouse and French company Framatome.

Temelin will do a lot of work concerning the turbine, including the replacement of the rotor and shield of the generator. Temelin will install a backup rotor, then the current machinery will undergo a revision and serve as the backup in the coming years. It is a standard procedure, Temelin head Jan Kruml said, adding that a similar replacement was carried out in unit 2 three years ago.

Including suppliers, the shutdown will involve about a thousand people.

"Shutdowns are the most difficult time of the year. We have to coordinate thousands of activities in a limited period of time," said Bohdan Zronek who is a board member and the nuclear energy division head of energy group CEZ, the operator of Temelin.

This is the first planned shutdown of Temelin this year. Unit 1 has been running continuously since May 22, 2021, producing over 8.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity.

Unit 2 is scheduled for shutdown on July 22.

Temelin, launched in December 2000, is the largest electricity producer in Czechia, covering about 20 percent of its consumption.

Last year, Temelin generated 15.86 TWh of electricity. This year, it has been 5.4 TWh.

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