Speaker of Budapest Climate Summit, Minister János Süli speaks about the role of nuclear energy in energy transition

 Speaker of Budapest Climate Summit, Minister János Süli speaks about the role of nuclear energy in energy transition

János Süli, the Minister responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of two new reactors at Paks gave an exclusive interview to Budapest Climate Summit’s main media partner, CEENERGYNEWS about the status of the major investment project and the future of nuclear energy in light of increased global efforts to tackle climate change. He will speak at the Budapest Climate Summit, to be held on 9 October.

At the end of last month, project company Paks II submitted a full package of documents to the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) for obtaining a license for the construction of the two new blocks at the Paks nuclear power plant, which accounts for about half of Hungary’s electricity generation.

Paks power plant, located 100 kilometres south of Budapest is Hungary’s largest power generator, providing for one-third of domestic electricity consumption. The plant comprises four VVER-440 pressurised water reactors which were granted license-extension until the 2030s. After deciding to double the capacity of the 2-gigawatt Paks power plant, in 2014 the Hungarian government signed an agreement with Russian state company Rosatom to build two additional reactors of up to 1,200 MWe each.

“At the end of June, in line with the schedule, the project company submitted the application for obtaining the implementation licence to the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA), as a result of years of complex work,” starts János Süli.

“Indeed we reached a significant milestone by submitting this documentation, which certifies that the planned new blocks at the Paks power plant meet all relevant Hungarian and European Union rules and safety requirements.”

This article was originally published on CEENERGYNEWS, the official media partner of Budapest Climate Summit.