Czech state power company ČEZ has tentatively identified two preferred sites for additional small modular reactors following plans for a first such unit at the existing Temelín nuclear power station site.

The two sites are coal-fired generation sites at Detmarovice in the east of the country close to the border with Poland, and Tusimice in the northwest, close to the border with Germany.

Deploying SMRs will transform both plants into emission-free sites, ČEZ said. “ČEZ Group has committed itself to preparing the construction of small modular reactors with a total capacity of over 1,000 MW after 2040,” the company said. “The main purpose of the SMR construction is to ensure a long-term secure supply of stable emission-free energy.”

ČEZ said it is exploring other locations where additional SMRs could be built, including the existing Dukovany nuclear station site. All the other potential sites are coal sites. One, at Porici in the west of the country, has already been ruled out “due to the almost certain presence of an active fault near the site”, ČEZ said.