The Paks nuclear power plant expansion has reached another important moment with the start of excavation of the soil under the future Unit 6, the first step in the preparatory works for the construction of the unit, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Tuesday.
He noted that the excavation of the soil under the future Unit 6 reactor of the Paks nuclear power plant had started, initially to a depth of five meters, after the same had already been done for the planned Unit 5.
To give an idea of the scale of the work, the minister pointed out that as a result of the latter, around one million cubic meters of soil had to be removed from the site, and thirty to forty trucks were currently carrying the soil excavated by the eight machines.
He mentioned that at some points in Unit 6, the excavation will have to be carried out to a depth of 23 meters to guarantee stability and safe operation, as the next phase in the works. Péter Szijjártó also stressed that in the meantime, the gap walling works, extremely important for stability and safety, are underway, and some 700 meters have already been built.
“All this means that completion of the work by 2030 remains a realistic target,” he highlighted. The minister said that the expansion of the Paks power plant is an essential element of Hungary’s long-term energy security, as it will enable the country to generate around 70 percent of the electricity it consumes.
“This way we will not be forced to rely on international markets, we will not be exposed to the sometimes crazy price fluctuations of international markets,” he added.
“The case for the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant has been buried by many, and many have been against its success, but the Hungarian national interest is clear: the share of nuclear energy in the energy mix must be increased. The obvious solution is to build two new units, that will increase our nuclear capacity from 2,000 to 4,400 megawatts,” he concluded.
In May, the European Commission approved amendments to the contracts for the expansion of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, allowing the project to be accelerated. Szijjártó recently highlighted that the Paks project guarantees the long-term security of Hungary’s energy supply. According to the him, recent months have shown that countries that can produce as much of their own energy as possible will be the most secure in the coming period. Hungary’s natural resources and geographical location make nuclear energy the most suitable means of protecting the country from the uncertainties of international markets.
Some fake news also surfaced, thanks to international liberal press. The most recent was that Hungary would stop cooperating with Russia’s Rosatom on the development project. The rumors were quickly dispelled by the foreign minister, saying that “We are committed to the implementation of the agreement signed with Rosatom nine years ago.” (At the end of March 2014, Hungary and the Russian Federation signed a EUR 10 billion loan agreement to finance the construction of the two new Paks units.)
