The Slovak nuclear regulator UJD has received a request from Jadrová Energetická Spolocnost Slovenska (Jess) for a siting permit for a new nuclear power plant near the existing Bohunice nuclear station in the west of the country.
Reports in Slovakia said UJD has one year to make a decision on the application. The reports said Jess plans to apply for a construction licence for the plant at the end of 2025 with construction work scheduled to start in 2031.
Jess is a joint venture between Slovak radioactive waste management company Javys (51%) and Czech utility ČEZ (49%). It was formed in December 2009 specifically to build and operate a new nuclear plant at Bohunice.
Slovakia operates four commercial nuclear reactors – two at Mochovce and two at Bohunice – all of the Russia-designed VVER-440 type. Together the fleet generated about 52% of the country’s electricity in 2021.
Operation of the new Mochovce-3, Slovakia’s fifth unit which was connected to the grid earlier this month, could bring the share of nuclear in the country’s electricity generation to 65%, putting it second behind only France, with 69%.
