More than five years of international intrigue ended with a whimper on April 10th as ČEZ, a Czech utility company, officially cancelled the planned expansion of the Temelín nuclear power plant, 120 km south of Prague in the South Bohemia region. The project was undone by a fall in electricity prices and the spectre of a botched state energy scheme in years past.
Atomstroyexport
Czechs pull plug on nuclear expansion
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
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Czech president wants new tender for nuclear project
Thursday, April 10, 2014PRAGUE, April 9 (Reuters) - A tender for the $10-15 billion expansion of the Czech Republic's Temelin nuclear power plant should be wound down and replaced with a new contest with more bidders, President Milos Zeman said on Wednesday.
The plan to build two reactors at the site has been undermined by falling power prices and the government's unwillingness to provide price guarantees to Temelin's owner, CEZ, which is majority-owned by the state.
Bulgaria set for nuclear power referendum
Sunday, January 27, 2013Bulgarians are set to vote in a referendum on whether a new nuclear power plant should be built.
The opposition Socialist party called the vote because it wants the government to reverse its decision not to build a new plant at Belene.
The first referendum in Bulgaria's post-Communist history has polarised opinion and is seen as a precursor of general elections later this year.
Areva excluded from CEZ nuclear bid, leaving US and Russian rivals
Friday, October 5, 2012In a shock announcement, Czech power company CEZ on Friday excluded France’s Areva from its multi-billion-euro tender to expand the Temelin nuclear power plant for failing to fulfill all the requirements, leaving Toshiba’s US unit Westinghouse and a consortium led by Russia’s Atomstroyexport as the two remaining bidders.
Bulgaria Lashes Out at Russia over Increased Belene NPP Claim
Wednesday, September 12, 2012Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has reacted strongly to Russia's increased claim against Bulgaria's National Electric Company over the country abandoning the Belene NPP project.
On Tuesday, Rosatom subsidiary Atomstroyexport increased its claim to EUR 1 B. The case of Bulgaria having to reimburse Atomstroyexport for scrapping plans to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene is tried by the International Court of Arbitration in Paris.
‘Surge in costs may propel Russians to drop Akkuyu nuclear power plant’
Saturday, June 23, 2012It is not an easy game, it never has been. Turkey now seems to be closer to realizing its bid for its first nuclear power plant than ever before.
Some, however, argue the country may find itself far from this dream due to some unanticipated problems that may occur behind closed doors. But isn’t there a remedy to erase all lingering doubts about the planned plant?
China edges ahead in Turkey nuclear race
Tuesday, April 10, 2012China appears to be edging ahead in the international contest to build a new nuclear power station on Turkey’s Black Sea coast – a sign of how the ambitions of its nuclear companies are poised to reshape the global nuclear industry.
Beijing is not looking for government guarantees for the project and can supply its own financing, according to an Ankara official, pointing to China’s advantage in the race to build the reactor for Turkey.
Bulgaria abandons Belene nuclear plant plans
Wednesday, March 28, 2012SOFIA, March 28 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has abandoned plans to build the 2,000 megawatt Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube River and will construct a new gas power plant instead, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said on Wednesday.
The Belene project has failed to attract serious foreign investors in the past three years after Germany's RWE pulled out in 2009 due to funding concerns.
WikiLeaks: Russia's Nuclear Projects Abroad 'Fantasy', Belene Included - US Ambassador
Friday, August 26, 2011Russia's state nuclear company Atomstroyexport – which is technically supposed to build Bulgaria's Belene NPP – is facing severe shortages, according to a freshly leaked diplomatic cable of the US ambassador in Moscow.
The cable by John Beyrle, US Ambassador to Russia who was the US Ambassador to Bulgaria before going to Moscow, dated April 3, 2009, was released Thursday by WikiLeaks and their Bulgarian partner Bivol.bg.
Wikileaks: Russian Blackmail and Energy Mafia Surround Russian Energy Projects in Bulgaria
Wednesday, May 4, 2011Bulgarians "risk being cold" this winter if the government did not move forward with the Russian energy projects. This is what Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin said, off-the-record, to his Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov, during the summit in Gdansk in September, 2009. The tone of the sentence in question is not clear, we cannot judge if it was threatening enough, but obviously it seriously impressed Borisov in order for him to report it in a timely manner and for Putin’s words to find their place in the classified documents of the American diplomacy.
