Doosan Škoda Power to supply Temelín generators

The company won the public tender for new generators for the units at Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. The contract value has not been disclosed beyond it amounts to "to several billion" Czech Koruna. (CZK1 billion is about USD48 million).

The turbine-generator sets weigh more over 2,000 tons, with a total length of 65 metres. The generators are directly connected to one high-pressure and three low-pressure turbine sections, and currently supply the grid with a nominal 1,086 MW of electricity.

Daniel Beneš, Chairman and CEO of ČEZ Group, said: "Since the commissioning of our nuclear units, we have managed to increase their output by a total of 500 MWe. That’s a massive amount of electricity, comparable to a large coal-fired power plant - but without added emissions, land use, or other negative impacts. By replacing the generators at Temelín, we are continuing in this process."

The original turbine-generator sets at Temelín, which are approaching the end of their operational life, were supplied by Škoda Plzeň, which is now part of Doosan Škoda Power. The replacements are intended to allow greater output, but also fit with the lifetime extension of the units.

Doosan Škoda Power, which supplies turbine-generator systems to customers worldwide, is headquarted in Plzeň and is part of South Korean group Doosan Enerbility.

Seungwoo Sohn, CEO of Power Service Business Group of Doosan Enerbility, said: "We are building on our long-standing cooperation in turbine delivery and service support for Temelín. But it’s important to note that we succeeded against other global manufacturers, which confirms both our position as one of the world’s leaders in delivering power plant equipment and the strong standing of our Czech company."

Four VVER-440 units are currently in operation at the Dukovany site. Two VVER-1000 units are in operation at Temelín, which came into operation in 2000 and 2002, and the aim is for them to operate for 60 years. The Czech Republic uses nuclear power for 34% of its electricity. In addition to maintaining and upgrading its existing units, the country has plans for new gigawatt units, initially at Dukovany, and also for up to 3 GW of small modular reactor capacity.