The Czech Republic continues to bolster its energy self-sufficiency, by reducing the country’s energy-dependence on Russia. Today, a ceremony was held to commence construction on Germany’s first onshore LNG terminal for the processing and further transport of natural gas, situated near Hamburg, at the mouth of the River Elbe on the North Sea. Led by the Hanseatic Energy Hub consortium, the terminal will be commissioned in 2027. In cooperation with the government, ČEZ Group entered into contracts last year to secure a long-term annual capacity of 2 billion cubic metres at Stade.

Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), a wholly owned subsidiary of ČEZ, submitted its evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), evaluating bids for the construction of a new nuclear unit at Dukovany. In the report, it recommended the ranking, proposing its preferred supplier of a new nuclear unit or units. The Government of the Czech Republic will now issue its statement as to with whom ČEZ will negotiate the final form of the contracts.

Yesterday in the evening, the Unit 1 of Temelín NPP started to produce electricity again. Operators have connected it to the transmission system after replacing a quarter of the fuel assemblies. Power engineers also checked the safety systems the turbine an its generator. In total, they managed almost twenty thousand activities during the shutdown, including 66 investment actions. Together with the Dukovany power plant, all six nuclear units are currently in operation. The Unit 2 of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant is now planned to be shut down for the inspection and refueling.

The central sections of conveyor belts in strip coal mines could serve as structures for carrying photovoltaic power plants in the future. Normally, these structures are bored into the ground; however, the common solution cannot be used in areas with unstable subsoil, such as spoil heaps, waste ponds, and other unfirm areas. Engineers from PRODECO, a company from the ČEZ Group, have been developing prototypes that are able to cope with moving soil. Moreover, retired mining equipment could get a second life and a new purpose. In pursuing its vision of Clean Energy for Tomorrow, ČEZ Group will build new photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of thousands of MWs by 2030.