Sakova Signs Agreement on Project Study for Westinghouse Nuclear Reactor

Dubrovnik, 30 April (TASR-correspondent) - US company Westinghouse will carry out an analysis for the construction of a new nuclear power facility in Jaslovske Bohunice (Trnava region), with the declaration of intent starting with an initial engineering and design study being signed by Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD), US Deputy Secretary of State Allison Hooker and Westinghouse Vice-president Margaret Cosentino in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The project will be financed by a US government grant. "The analysis aims to summarise whether the technological solution of an AP1000 reactor developed by Westinghouse can be integrated, and whether the reactor can be built and constructed in Jaslovske Bohunice in Slovakia. The outcome will also include the economic parameters of the solution," explained Sakova, who joined President Peter Pellegrini's delegation at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Dubrovnik. The study will take six to seven months and will cost the US government 5 million USD, she added. The signing of the declaration of intent for the study follows an inter-governmental agreement on expanding cooperation in Slovakia's civil nuclear programme, which was signed by Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and US Secretary of Energy Christopher A. Wright in January. According to Fico, the agreement opens the door to negotiations on supplying US nuclear technology to Slovakia, but it doesn't constitute a binding decision that the new reactor will come from a US company. The aforementioned initial engineering and design study should form the basis for the final decision. According to Fico, a potential final 'binding' contract, based on which a new nuclear power plant would be built, could be signed in 2027. The new nuclear power facility with an output of 1,200 megawatts could be launched in 2038-2040 on the site of the current Jaslovske Bohunice NPP. The service life of current reactors could be extended until 2060 thanks to current technologies, said Sakova. ko/df