The tender leaves in the sky

The Temelin tender promises to be the most fun of all tenders for the construction of nuclear facilities, announced in the world in recent years. Mysterious Chinese mandarins and fruity Arab sheikhs were changed in the organizer chair by the Czechs, and in each Czech has a small fraction of the Good Soldier Schweik. Briefly, it will not be bored.

Certainly one of the bidders was in hurry and the Prague publishing house Argo printed the fantastic story "The music for Anvilans" (Hudba pro Anvilany).

Plot the story fit into three lines. Russian soulless corporation Energaz added two units to the Temelin NPP and immediately blocked Uranium Pipe supply lines of fuel and spare parts. But this was not enough for wily Russian, and they sold the Earth to the strangers in exchange for new types of energy. Rather, they would sell if it were not Czech engineer, who halts the expansion together with the ghost of suspiciously British nationality.

To make a competitor "Black Lord" in the best-selling science fiction - this is perhaps a new word in the history of world competitions of atomic corporations. But this is not the limit. Too many nuclear units want to build Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is playing too great between the providers of the amount of reactor technologies, and just one book will not ended a PR war.

If at the beginning of the tender Czech power company CEZ were out talking about two units to Temelin and possibly three more for the Bohunice and Dukovany, but now their appetites are growing literally every month. CEZ managers rise on the shield the Soviet plans for atomization of Czechoslovakia, according to which all regions without exception of the then unified Czechoslovakia had to get on the plant.

The first of the new Czech region, where should be built atomic power station from scratch, it may be Blagutovitse in northern Moravia. But we have to wait. So far, CEZ only probes the public opinion, which in the Czech Republic very loyal to the peaceful atom. In the queue for resuscitation are Tetovo and Mnishek - two areas in which the Communists had to perform preliminary assessments prior to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Shrouded in nuclear power plants the Czech Republic will lay claim to being the energy capital of Central Europe. But someone has to build all these nuclear power plants. The company "Westinghouse" believe that this someone can be Americans.

Amid Shveik-like PR escapades were scarcely noticed the March performances of managers "Westinghouse". In an interview for E15 newspaper, consultant of Americans Bernd Donhert the publicly acknowledged first time - the company from the United States has been one and a half years working on the classification of Czech producers and helped them to adapt to Western standards.

"Westinghouse" successfully pretends to come to the Czech Republic with the rank of private business and does not extend to his past exploits in the country - for example, about the famous American nuclear lobbyist and part-time CIA agent Yan "Mountain" Vadleyh. But how long can the American atomic scientists will be able to hide that they are, as before, will actively support the Czech government agencies in the U.S.?

Even more hot events unfold on the periphery of the tender. The Czech government is ready to buy back shares of the privatized Institute for Nuclear Research in Rzez. If this happens, Americans will be celebrating another victory, for now institute controlled CEZ and ... Skoda-JS, owned by Russian shareholders.

Institute in Rzez is not only a profitable venture and project organization. Here, retain qualified personnel, capable to engage in conceptual development of one of the possible types of Generation IV reactors - molten-salt reactor. But Rzez engineers lack the equipment, codes, and money. All that they are ready to give the United States, but under one condition - if the institution gets out of control CEZ and Skoda.

Russian electronic edition AtomInfo.Ru and Czech newspaper Prague Telegraph will continue to work together to illuminate the course of the struggle for the Temelin orders - the most unpredictable atomic tender of XXI century.

SOURCE: AtomInfo.Ru and Prague Telegraph

DATE: April 09, 2010

Topics: NPP, East Europe, Czech, NPP Temelin, Westinghouse