Financing of nuclear units in Czechia needs to be clarified - analysts

Financing of nuclear units in Czechia needs to be clarified - analysts

Prague, April 30 (CTK) - The receipt of the European Commission's approval for public aid and the submission of bids for the construction of multiple nuclear units in the Czech Republic by both bidders is a positive development, but the financing of the project needs to be clarified, analysts polled by CTK said today.

The analysts expect the price for the reactors to be significantly higher than current estimates.

French company EDF and South Korea's KHNP have submitted their binding bids for the construction of up to four nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic. The semi-state energy company CEZ, which is in charge of the nuclear tender, will now analyse the bids and submit its evaluation to the government in June. The winner of the tender and how many nuclear units will be built in the Czech Republic in the future should be decided in the summer. The first units should be ready in 2036.

"The fact that both bidders have submitted binding bids is of course very good news. The Czech Republic needs to diversify its resources, to strengthen stable sources," Capitalinked.com analyst Radim Dohnal said. He said it was also positive that the bidders accepted the request to extend the offer to four units.

On the other hand, Dohnal sees the price prospects of the entire project as negative. He assumes that the originally estimated price of Kc160bn for one unit will certainly be exceeded.

"Including financing, I expect the cost of one 1,200 MW unit to be closer to Kc400bn," Dohnal said. He also sees the financing of the construction itself as unclear, saying that the state must step in.

XTB analyst Tomas Cverna sees the obtaining of the public support permit as very important for the tender. "The implementation of the project is in the interest of all parties involved, and especially the Czech Republic, in order to increase energy security," he said. According to him, EDF is a slightly more likely winner in the tender.

The environmental association Calla pointed out that both bidders have offered reactor technologies that have not yet been built anywhere in the world. Both the timeline and the budget of the project will likely be exceeded, said Edvard Sequens, an energy consultant for the association. He also noted that the financing model for the project is not yet clear.

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