Paks Nuclear Power Plant

Paks Nuclear Power Plant
Two blocks of the nuclear power plant
location
Coordinates	46 ° 34 '21 "  N , 18 ° 51' 15"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 34 '21 "  N , 18 ° 51' 15"  E
Country:	Hungary
Data
Owner:	Hungarian Electric Trade Holding Company (subsidiary of MVM )
Operator:	Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. (Daughter of MVM)
Project start:	1967
Commercial operation:	Aug 10, 1983
Active reactors (gross):	4 (2000 MW)
Reactors in planning (gross):	2 (2400 MW)
Energy fed in in 2017:	15,218.92 GWh
Energy fed in since commissioning:	( until December 31, 2017 ) 435,798.57 GWh
Website:	Paks NPP
Was standing:	June 1, 2018
The data source of the respective entries can be found in the documentation .

Paks ( Hungarian: Paksi Atomerőmű ) is the only nuclear power plant in Hungary : It is located about 110 kilometers south of the capital of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube , near the city of Paks .

With its four nuclear reactors , it is the largest employer in the region. Nuclear waste from the nuclear power plant is in the local storage stored (1988-1996 Püspökszilágy ).

Paks I

Entrance to the power plant area

Control room of the nuclear power plant

Construction of the first double block began on August 1, 1974. On December 28, 1982 the first and on August 6, 1984 the second reactor block went into commercial operation. On October 1, 1979, construction work began on the second double block with the Paks-3 and Paks-4 reactors. These went into operation on September 28, 1986 and August 16, 1987. In all four reactor units Soviet reactors of the type are WWER -440/213 the second generation is used.

It is planned to extend the original operating life of 30 years by a further 20 years. The shutdown would be postponed to 2032 or 2037. The term extension for Unit 1 was implemented in December 2012. The gross output of all reactors was increased to 500 to 510 MW each. In May 2008, Atomstroiexport signed the contract to increase performance and the associated retrofitting. The cost was $ 900 million. The first two reactors have already been modernized. The renovation of the other two blocks should be completed in 2009.

In the 1980s, before the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union , consideration was given to building units 5 and 6 with VVER-1000 reactors.

The IAEA wrote in October 2016 that operational safety had improved since 2014; however, further improvements are necessary.

When the construction of the Żarnowiec nuclear power plant was finally canceled , the Center for Nuclear Studies , located on the Paks nuclear power plant site , bought a VVER-440/213 pressure vessel there, which is now on display in Paks.

New building Paks II

In the past, a replacement of the four reactors from the Soviet era was planned; the first plans for this were drawn up as early as 1998. The output of the future reactors should be between 600 MW and 700 MW. Reactors of the type AP-600 from Westinghouse , a CANDU-6 from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or a WWER-640/407 as a joint project of Russian Atomic Storm Export and Siemens came into question . However, the plans were discontinued as the political situation made this impossible. At the beginning of 2009 there was a fundamental decision of the Hungarian parliament, which provided for the construction of two 1000 MW reactors at the Paks site. On February 5, 2010, four companies had already shown interest in negotiating the expansion of the plant. The total electrical output of the system should be doubled.

In January 2014, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán surprisingly signed a contract with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the modernization and expansion of the nuclear power plant. The Federal Agency for Atomic Energy of Russia (RosAtom) is taking on the construction of two additional reactor units by 2030. These are initially to be operated alongside the old units, which will only be shut down between 2032 and 2037. Russia secured the financing with a loan of over 3,600 billion forints (approx. 11 billion euros) and is also responsible for the delivery and removal of the radioactive fuel . The new reactor blocks are expected to supply Hungary with nuclear energy by 2085 and create 10,000 new jobs during construction.

On January 14, 2014, the Hungarian government ( Orbán III cabinet ) and Russia signed the contract for the construction of two new reactor units. The total cost of 10 to 12 billion euros will be partially financed by Russian loans. The two reactor blocks should each have an output of approx. 1200 MW. The construction is carried out by the Russian state company Rosatom . Completion was forecast for 2023 (as of 2014).

The opposition criticized the fact that the construction contract for RosAtom was carried out without a public tender; In addition, the financing is opaque. Before a debate in the Hungarian parliament in early March 2015, János Lázár , head of the Orbán III government's state chancellery , said that certain details of the nuclear treaty would be kept secret for 30 years.

In November 2015, the EU Commission initiated infringement proceedings because the new building of Paks II had not been put out to tender : it was discontinued in November 2016. In a further procedure, it is now only checked whether the lending represents an unreliable state subsidy . The discussion on the subject was fueled by a flight by EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger, who was responsible for energy issues until September 2014, in the private plane of Russia lobbyist Klaus Mangold to Budapest in May 2016 .

At the end of May 2016 it became known that the billion- euro loan for the construction of the new reactors could burst, as the commissioned Russian Vnesheconom-Bank (VEB) was "on the verge of bankruptcy".

On February 2, 2017, Putin and Orbán met to discuss the project and other energy policy issues. On March 6, 2017, the EU Commission approved the Hungarian state's financial support for the power plant in accordance with EU state aid regulations. 80% of the project costs are to be covered by a Russian state loan of 10 billion euros.

safety

The IAEA said that the modernization of the plants was one reason for the high level of safety of the plant. There are still parts of the nuclear reactor that need improvement. The VVER were designed to run as long as possible. Precise maintenance work was not taken into account when designing the reactors. Parts of the active zone of the nuclear reactor cannot be reached. To achieve this, a special system was developed. Paks is to be upgraded as a model project to increase the security of other systems. The whole project cost over $ 8 million and was completed in 1997.

Accidents

April 10, 2003 (INES 3)

On April 10, 2003, an accident occurred. When cleaning fuel assemblies in Unit 2, their cladding was damaged. Radioactive gas escaped. It was a class 3 accident according to the International Rating Scale for Nuclear Events . Nobody was injured, but there was acute danger; the staff had to flee the reactor hall. There was also an environmental release that was slightly above the annual dose limits . The reactor then had to continue to operate with reduced power. In 2007 the damage to the reactor was finally repaired. The damaged core fuel rods corroded the reactor at a cost of up to $ 43 million.

April 9, 2005 (INES 1)

A defect that occurred while the block was being cooled (for scheduled maintenance work) was classified as INES grade 1 (abnormality).

May 4, 2009 (INES 2)

On May 4, 2009, an instrument fell into the reactor hall.

September 6, 2009 (INES 1)

Planned work was carried out on a gate on September 6, 2012, but the required written instructions were not carried out on time. This is an administrative disparity that the Directorate for Nuclear Safety of the National Atomic Energy Agency has classified in the 1st grade of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).

Incidents under INES 1

Malfunctions (operational events) below the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) are published quarterly by the MVM Paks nuclear power plant. These have not been reported as dangerous by the National Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but some of them led to partial or complete unit shutdowns.

Data of the reactor blocks

The Paks Nuclear Power Plant has four active and two planned units :

Reactor block	Reactor type	Electric net power	Electric gross power	Thermal performance	start of building	Network synchronization	Commercialization of essential operation	switching off processing
Paks-1	WWER-440/213	470 MW	500 MW	1485 MW	08/01/1974	12/28/1982	08/10/1983	(Planned for 2032)
Paks-2	WWER-440/213	473 MW	500 MW	1485 MW	08/01/1974	09/06/1984	11/14/1984	( Planned for 2034 )
Paks-3	WWER-440/213	473 MW	500 MW	1485 MW	10/01/1979	09/28/1986	December 01, 1986	( Planned for 2036 )
Paks-4	WWER-440/213	473 MW	500 MW	1485 MW	10/01/1979	08/16/1987	11/01/1987	( Planned for 2037 )
Paks-5	VVER-1200	1114 MW	1200 MW	-	(still unknown)			Planned for a service life of 60 years
Paks-6	VVER-1200	1114 MW	1200 MW	-	(still unknown)			Planned for a service life of 60 years

See also

• List of power plants in Hungary
• List of nuclear power plants
• List of nuclear power plants
• List of VVER

Web links

• http://paksnuclearpowerplant.com (Homepage)
• Plague: Paks (Hungary)
• Pester Lloyd: Article of May 13, 2011
• Past, present and future of the Paks NPP in Hungary (Conference report, November 2013)
• IAEA.org: Article on the Paks NPP

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} World Nuclear Association - Nuclear Power in Hungary (English)
2. ↑ Atomstroyexport ( Memento of October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
3. ^ IAEA: Statement of October 21, 2016
4. ↑ Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant before expansion ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Paks orosz bővítésének háttere (Background of the Russian expansion of Paks)
6. ↑ Construction of nuclear power plants: Hungary awards billion-dollar contract to Russia
7. ↑ heise.de , TP of February 18, 2015: Hungary: Energy cooperation with Russia
8. ↑ FAZ.net , March 13, 2015: EU to block Russian-Hungarian nuclear business
9. ↑ Budapest Business Journal , March 2, 2015: Paks deal could become confidential for 30 years
10. ↑ EU Commission takes action against Hungary's Paks II nuclear power plant, orf.at, November 19, 2015, accessed November 19, 2015.
11. ↑ EU: EU Commission closes proceedings against Hungary because of Akw project Paks II. In: zeit.de . November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 . 
12. ↑ badische-zeitung.de , Wirtschaft , November 22, 2016, Daniela Weingärtner: Oddities about the new nuclear power plant in Hungary (November 25, 2016)
13. ↑ May 28, 2016: http://wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/nachrichten/europa_cee/4997833/Ungarn_Russischer-Millionenkredit-fur-AKWBau-platzt ( Memento of May 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (November 25, 2016)
14. ↑ How safe is the nuclear power plant that Putin is having built in Hungary?
15. ↑ http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-464_de.htm
16. ↑ Paks II building work to start soon, says Russian president. In: World Nuclear News. World Nuclear Association, September 20, 2018, accessed January 6, 2020 . 
17. ↑ Managing Water Resources -IAEA Technical Co-operation - A Partner in Development - ENSURING NUCLEAR SAFETY (English)
18. ↑ Russia extends the operating life of the reactors in the Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant In: sputniknews.com , October 29, 2007, accessed on June 7, 2018.
19. ↑ Costs failed nuclear power plant projects: Billions in investments without income In: tagesschau.de , October 22, 2015, accessed on June 7, 2018.
20. ↑ Paks: csak a vakszerencsén múlott, hogy nem lett Csernobil. Retrieved June 26, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Lapok / SajtokozlemenyReszletek.aspx ( hu-hu ) In: www.atomeromu.hu . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
22. ↑ MTI index: Üzemzavar a paksi atomerőműben ( hu ) In: index.hu . May 5, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
23. ↑ Central Office, NucNet asbl, Brussels Belgium: Outage Incident At Hungary's Paks-4 Rated INES Level 2 . In: The Independent Global Nuclear News Agency . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
24. ↑ Rendellenesség a paksi atomerőműben | Alfahír ( hu ) In: alfahir.hu . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
25. ↑ Kezdőlap. Retrieved June 26, 2019 (hu-hu). 
26. ↑ Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA : "Country Details: Hungary" (English)
27. ↑ Hungary: Extended run time for Paks-1. In: nuklearforum.ch. Nuclear Forum Switzerland, January 10, 2013, accessed on January 20, 2013 . 
28. ↑ WNA Reactor Database (English)
29. ↑ The Paks 5 nuclear power plant in the IAEA's PRIS (English, currently no data available)
30. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20120619-kiemelt-beruhazas-lett-a-paksi-atomeromu-bovitese.html (Hungarian news agency)
31. ^ ^{A b} Andrea Wallner, Gabriele Mraz Helmut Hirsch, Adhipati Y. Indradiningrat Oda Becker, Günter Pauritsch, Martin Baumann: Nuclear Power Plant Paks II Specialist opinion on the draft of an EIA as part of the environmental impact assessment. Retrieved July 27, 2019 . 
32. ↑ The Paks 6 nuclear power plant in the IAEA's PRIS (English, currently no data available)