Government committed to extending Paks nuclear plant’s lifespan

Hungary’s government is committed to extending the lifespan of the Paks nuclear power plant, László Palkovics, the minister of technology and industry, said in Paks, in central Hungary, on Friday.

Addressing a press conference after talks with the CEO of MVM Paksi Atomerőmű, the plant’s operator, Palkovics said all conditions were in place to extend the plant’s lifespan, adding that its lifespan could be extended by between 10 and 20 years. The four blocks at Paks, each with a nominal capacity of 500MW, were built between 1982 and 1987. Their 30-year lifespans were extended by 20 years between 2012 and 2017.

In addition to extending the plant’s lifespan, the government is also planning upgrades to increase the plant’s efficiency, as well as new energy storage solutions, Palkovics said. If the plant has 20 more years left in it during which it can operate safely at high efficiency, then its lifespan should be extended, the minister said.

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“We don’t see any technical issues that would have a significant effect on the extension of the plant’s lifespan,” he said, adding he was hopeful that Hungary could renegotiate the conditions of the extension in Brussels.