BUDAPEST, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The nuclear plant that supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity will likely continue running at reduced capacity despite a rise in water levels on the Danube river which helps cool it, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Friday.
The level of the Danube is set to temporarily rise thanks to rains in Austria, but the situation at the Paks nuclear plant remains “difficult”, Magyar said in a Facebook video.
The plant has been running at 10% of its capacity since last week due to a prolonged heatwave, as across much of Europe, and record-low water river levels.
“We must find a solution for operating the Paks nuclear plant as the Hungarian economy cannot work without the plant for months,” Magyar said later on Friday at a briefing.
GOVERNMENT WORKING ON SOLUTIONS
Last week Magyar asked companies and citizens to cut back electricity use in the evening hours and dimmed decorative lighting on Budapest’s historic buildings to save energy.
Magyar also said on Friday that temperatures were expected to drop and the country’s energy and water supplies were stable, which meant there was no longer need for cutbacks.
However, Magyar said the situation at Paks remains “difficult”, and that the government was working on solutions if low water levels become permanent.
“We expect the water level to rise a good 20 cm in the next few days, however, as there is no rain expected again from tomorrow, this rise is expected to be temporary,” Magyar said.
Later Magyar said there was a “slight chance” that another turbine at the plant can be restarted on Monday, doubling its output.
PLANNED EXPANSION TO BE REVIEWED
Magyar also said that a review of the plant’s planned expansion has become all the more necessary and that it is already costing double what was projected at the start of planning.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government awarded the Paks 2 project in 2014 without a tender to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and it has been delayed by years.
Magyar also said that according to current plans Paks 2 would also be cooled by the Danube.
“It is certain that the Paks 2 project needs to be renegotiated from this perspective as well,” he said, while also mentioning other methods including cooling towers.
Magyar also said the government will examine what investments were needed to make Hungary’s energy and water supplies more resilient.
Magyar said last week that Hungary will develop 4 gigawatts of wind energy capacity by 2030 to diversify its energy sources. On Friday, he said that the government will put out a tender for 700 MW of wind power generation capacity by August 31.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Jan Harvey and David Holmes)
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