Introduction

Hungary has various energy sources, but the main ones are coal and lignite. It has only one nuclear power plant (NPP), near the town of Paks, which is the largest power producer in the country and meets one third of Hungary’s domestic power needs. The Hungarian power grid is connected to the CENTREL system and the Western European grid. Hungary imports electricity mainly from Slovakia and Ukraine. Following a review in 2001, which concluded that there were no technical or safety constraints to prevent the lifetime extension of Paks NPP, the Hungarian parliament’s economic committee decided in September 2005 upon a 20-year lifetime extension for the plant. The decision was taken for economic and environmental reasons. Former Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, (he resigned on 21 March) announced on 16 February 2009 a proposal to double the capacity of the country’s NPP. The proposal was adopted by the Parliament in March 2009. Two new units will be added to the current plant. Each 1000 MW nuclear reactor. They are expected to come into operation by 2025.

Country Profile

Executive Summary

Hungary has various energy sources, but the main ones are coal and lignite. It has only one nuclear power plant (NPP), near the town of Paks, which is the largest power producer in the country and meets one third of Hungary’s domestic power needs. The Hungarian power grid is connected to the CENTREL system and the Western European grid. Hungary imports electricity mainly from Slovakia and Ukraine. Following a review in 2001, which concluded that there were no technical or safety constraints to prevent the lifetime extension of Paks NPP, the Hungarian parliament’s economic committee decided in September 2005 upon a 20-year lifetime extension for the plant. The decision was taken for economic and environmental reasons. Former Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, (he resigned on 21 March) announced on 16 February 2009 a proposal to double the capacity of the country’s NPP. The proposal was adopted by the Parliament in March 2009. Two new units will be added to the current plant. Each 1000 MW nuclear reactor. They are expected to come into operation by 2025.

Security of supply

Hungary has various energy sources, but the main ones are coal and lignite. Recoverable reserves of hard coal amount to 600 to 700 million short tons; reserves of lignite total 3000 million short tons and reserves of brown coal add up to some 1000 million short tons. Unfortunately, Hungarian coal is high in sulphur and ash content and production is decreasing. Hungary has also proven oil reserves of 102.5 million barrels. This production accounts for less than a quarter of the national demand, which is also decreasing. However, the company responsible for oil exploration and production, the Hungarian Oil and Gas Company (MOL), is one of the largest oil and gas companies in Central Europe and the largest in Hungary in terms of sales. The country has natural gas reserves of about 1.2 trillion cubic feet. The reserves are expected to last 20 years at the current production rate. Hungary has one nuclear power plant (NPP), located near the town of Paks. It is the largest power producer in the country, and meets around one third of Hungary’s domestic power needs. The Paks NPP has four Soviet-designed VVER-440/213 pressurized light water reactors.

The CENTREL electricity system links the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. In 1995, the CENTREL system was connected with the Western European grid. Currently, both north-south and east-west connections are being expanded, as part of the EU’s Trans-European Energy Network project. The project also includes a new link to Lithuania. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary are also members of the electricity transmission system UCTE (Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity), which represents the interests of transmission system operators in 20 countries. Hungary imports its electricity mostly from Slovakia and Ukraine.

Nuclear Policy

In September 2005, the Hungarian government approved in principle to expand the life span of the country's only nuclear power plant, Paksi Atomeromu Rt., by 20 years. In November the Hungarian parliament gave the final approval. The four reactors were designed to have a lifetime of 30 years. A 2001 review concluded that there were no technical or safety constraints to prevent such a lifetime extension being granted. The cost of the project will be $900 million, which will be financed by cash flow and invested primarily in engineering work up to 2030. The Hungarian Power Company (MVM), together with its parent company State Asset Management Ltd, owns the NPP. Former Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, (he resigned on 21 March) announced on 16 February 2009 a proposal to double the capacity of the country’s NPP. The proposal was included among other measures aimed at fighting the current economic crisis. The Members of

Parliament overwhelmingly approved it on 31 March 2009 with 330 votes in favour, six against and ten abstentions. The approval of the Parliament was required before any further step could be taken. Two new units could be added to the current plant. Each 1000 MW nuclear reactor would cost around 600-900 billion forints (2-3 billion €). The commissioning, planning and implementation of the construction project is expected to take a minimum of six years. Therefore the overall period leading to construction will be at least 11 years. The two new reators are expected to come into operation by 2025.

Safety and Waste Management

The Paks NPP has four Soviet-designed VVER-440/213 pressurized water reactors, which were put into operation between 1982 and 1987. Under the amended Atomic Energy Act of 1996, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) is responsible for safety policy, safeguards arrangements, licensing, safety, waste management and regulation. The Nuclear Safety Directorate of the HAEA is responsible for the safety of nuclear installations. EU safety experts have indicated that Pak is as safe as any western NPP and complies with EU standards. Paks has had an excellent safety record and has been ranked in the top 10 % of reactors worldwide when it comes to safety.

The policy in Hungary for managing spent fuel is to dispose of it without reprocessing, although in the past some spent fuel has been sent to Russia for reprocessing. According to that policy, which was implemented in 1995, spent fuel is stored in pools at the Paks NPP for five years, before being transferred to the plant’s dry storage facility. Since 1998, a levy on nuclear power production has been paid into a Central Nuclear Financial Fund that finances the storage and disposal of radioactive waste, spent fuel and decommissioning. The body responsible for all waste management, waste disposal and decommissioning is the Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (PURAM). Low and intermediate-level waste from the Paks NPP is stored at the plant and in the meantime PURAM is busy selecting a geological site for more permanent storage in the south of the country. A low-level waste repository for institutional (non-nuclear) radioactive waste is operational at Püspökszilágy. In November 2005, the Hungarian parliament voted in favour of giving preliminary approval, in principle, for preparatory work on the construction of a radioactive waste repository for low and medium-level waste in the administrative area of Bátaapáti.

Climate Change

Hungary has signed the Kyoto Protocol and must reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6% emissions below 1990 levels during the period 2008-2012. This goal has already been reached due to the drastic decrease in industrial production at the beginning of the 90s. The lifetime extension of the Paks NPP is aimed at meeting the Kyoto targets, since nuclear power does not emit any GHGs.

Public opinion

Hungarians seem very much in favour of nuclear power, as we can infer from a vote that took place in the municipality of Bátaapáti, south of the Paks NPP, in July 2005. The residents of the municipality voted overwhelmingly to approve the construction of the country’s final repository for low-level waste (LLW) and intermediate-level radioactive waste (ILW). The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority reported that with a voting turnout of 75%, residents voted 90.7% in favour of having the repository built at municipal plant in the south-central region of Hungary. Moreover, the results of the Eurobarometer on radioactive waste published in June 2008 show that Hungary is the country with the biggest share of citizens who support nuclear power (63%). More recently, the explanatory note attached to the resolution on the expansion of the capacity of Paks mentions that around 73% of the population supports nuclear power.

1. The Eurobarometer on Radioactive waste is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_297_en.pdf