CEZ calls for Temelin bids

01 November 2011

Three approved reactor vendors have been given until July 2012 to place their bids for the contract to build two nuclear power reactors at Temelin in the Czech Republic. The winner will be announced in late 2013.

 

Temelin tender documents (CEZ)
Weighty tome: the
6000-page Temelin tender documentation
(Image: CEZ)

Czech utility CEZ has formally invited the candidates - Areva, a Škoda JS/Atomstroyexport/OKB Gidropress consortium and Westinghouse – to submit their bids for the project. At the same time, it has released detailed tender documentation defining the full scope of the public contract, including commercial and technical requirements for the supply of two complete nuclear power plant blocks on a full turn-key basis, including the nuclear fuel for nine years of operation. Weighing in at over 70 kg in its printed form, the 6000 pages of tender documentation has taken a 400-strong team over three years to prepare.
 
All bids and plans must comply with the relevant legislation of the Czech Republic as well as applicable EU requirements and safety requirements defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA). Furthermore, noted CEZ CEO Daniel Benes, the plans must also be licensed in the vendors' home countries or in one of the EU Member States. "The plans will only be licensed in the Czech Republic if the aforementioned set of requirements has been fulfilled," he added.

 

Areva is putting forward its EPR design, as licensed in Finland and France and eventually also to be in the UK and USA. The AtomStroyExport consortium's bid is based on the MIR-1200 third generation VVER model under construction at Leningrad Phase II and Novovoronezh Phase II. Westinghouse's AP1000 is undergoing design certification revisions soon to be complete in the USA and is in the licensing process in the UK.
 
Bids must be submitted by 2 July 2012, giving the candidates eight months to prepare them. During that time, the bidders will have the opportunity to participate in joint meetings including site visits and a pre-bid conference. CEZ expects to announce the winning bidder, and sign the contract, in late 2013 and has promised to proceed in an "absolutely transparent manner" in selecting the supplier.
 
The Temelin site is already home to two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors, in operation since 2000 and 2003 respectively. Four earlier VVER models have also been in operation at Dukovany since the mid-1980s. Original plans for two further VVER units to be built at Temelin 4 were put on hold by the Czech government in 1990 following the launched the tender process for the new Temelin units in August 2009.

 

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News