In many European countries, nuclear power is seen as a climate-friendly form of energy. This is also the case in Austria’s northern neighbor, the Czech Republic. The construction of several mini nuclear power plants is planned there, also on the site of the nuclear power plant in Temelin, which is around 60 kilometers from the border with Upper Austria. The secret nuclear power plant offensive causes concern and resentment in the border communities.
It is well known that the Czech Republic wants to expand its nuclear power plants. Two new reactor blocks are planned in Temelin and several smaller power plants. But the plans for these mini nuclear power plants are likely to be much more advanced than previously known. According to German media reports, seven specific projects are already being examined. The first in Temelin could go into operation in 2032. In the Mühlviertel it is bubblingIn the Mühlviertel communities in Upper Austria – on the border to the Czech Republic – it is already bubbling enormously. The mayor of Leopoldschlag, Anita Gstöttenmayr (ÖVP), complains to the Ö1 “Morgenjournal” that once again no information has been provided. She adds: “Temelin is a good 50 kilometers from the town centre. From certain heights in our community you can see the reactors with the naked eye.” Demonstrations and border blockades – for example at the Wullowitz border crossing – are under discussion. “We will have to go out on the streets again so that people show up and what can be achieved. It’s sad that you can’t find any other way to communicate, but then you have to start an uprising again,” emphasizes Gstöttenmayr. “Many questions are still unanswered. For example, how to deal with the radioactive waste, i.e. with the final storage. So we fear that it will be dumped again near the border with Austria.” The liberal-conservative cabinet wants to increase the share of nuclear power in electricity production to more than half by 2040. Mini-nuclear power plants – new small-scale nuclear power plants – could play a key role here. Petr Zavodsky is responsible for the nuclear power plant expansion plans within the state-run energy group CEZ. At the CEZ corporate headquarters, the small, modular reactors are already seen as a future replacement for coal-fired power plants. Due to the climate protection plans, these are considered to be a phased-out model. According to the planners, the advantage would be that entire cities could then be supplied with district heating from a local nuclear power plant. More than a third of households in the Czech Republic use this form of heating. Nuclear power plants: high level of approval among the population of the Czech Republic The nuclear lobby in the Czech Republic does not have to make any great efforts to get support from its own population. In a “Eurobarometer” survey carried out last year, 79 percent of Czechs stated that nuclear power would have a positive impact in the next 20 years. That was the highest level of approval among all EU countries. In Germany, however, a clear majority of 69 percent of those surveyed expected negative consequences.
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