In many European countries, nuclear energy is seen as a climate-friendly form of energy. This is also the case in Austria’s northern neighbour, the Czech Republic. Several mini-nuclear power plants are planned there, including on the site of the nuclear power plant in Temelin, about 60 kilometers from the border with Upper Austria. The nuclear power plant’s covert offensive is causing concern and outrage in border communities.
The Czech Republic is known to want 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 sophisticated than previously known. According to reports in the German media, seven specific projects are already under investigation. The first in Temelin could be commissioned in 2032.
It’s bubbling in the Mühlviertel
In the Mühlviertler communities in Upper Austria – on the border with the Czech Republic – things are already simmering. The mayor of Leopoldschlag, Anita Gstöttenmayr (ÖVP), complains in the Ö1 “Tomorrow Journal” that no information was provided again. She adds: “Temelin is located more than 50 kilometers from the city center. You can see the reactors with the naked eye from certain high points in our community.”
Demonstrations and border blockades – for example at the Wullowitz border crossing – are up for discussion. “We will have to take to the streets again, so that people show up and what can be accomplished. It’s a shame you can’t find other ways to communicate, but then you have to revolt again,” emphasizes Gstöttenmayr.
Concerns About Final Storage
Günter Lorenz (ÖVP), mayor of Rainbach, follows the same line. “vmany questions are still unanswered. About, how to deal with the radioactive waste, ie with final storage. So we fear that it will be dumped again at the border with Austria.”
Czech Republic relies on mini-nuclear power stations
In the Czech Republic, the plans for the nuclear power plant are very concrete. The liberal-conservative cabinet wants to increase the share of nuclear energy in electricity production to more than half by 2040. Mini-nuclear power stations – new small-scale nuclear power stations – could play a key role here. Petr Zavodsky is responsible for the expansion plans for the nuclear power plant within the partially state-owned company CEZ.
At CEZ’s headquarters, the small, modular reactors are already seen as a future replacement for coal-fired power stations. Due to the climate protection plans, these are considered 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 great efforts to gain support from its own population. In a “Eurobarometer” survey conducted last year, 79 percent of Czechs stated that nuclear energy would have a positive impact in the next 20 years. That was the highest level of approval of all EU countries. In Germany, however, a clear majority of 69 percent of those polled expected negative consequences.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
