Czech Republic: Can nuclear power replace coal in heating plants?
2026-08-28
Modular nuclear reactors are not a solution for replacing coal-fired power generation in the heating sector. A new analysis by the Centre for Transport and Energy and Calla – the Association for Environmental Protection shows that whilst large heat pumps, the use of waste heat and geothermal energy are already commercially proven and available, modular reactors are currently among the technologies with a high degree of economic and technological uncertainty and will not even be available by the time we need them.
As a country with one of the highest proportions of the population supplied by centralised heat sources in Europe, the Czech Republic must find ways to rapidly phase out coal in the heating sector, on which nearly half of all customers still depend. The fate of most coal-fired heating plants will be decided over the next ten years, whilst optimists expect the first deployment of modular reactors in the Czech Republic – provided development is successfully completed – to take place in Temelín in 2035 at the earliest. A major unknown factor is the cost of the heat they produce. According to the analysis, if the Czech Republic is to replace coal in time and at an acceptable cost, it must focus primarily on technologies that have already been proven in practice and are ready for deployment.
When considering replacing coal-fired boilers in municipal heating plants with small nuclear reactors, safety aspects are often overlooked. There is still a risk of radioactive material leaks, and the surrounding area must be adequately prepared; security and protection must be ensured so that such a heating plant does not become a target for terrorists or the military. The problem of highly radioactive waste is also overlooked; in the Czech Republic, we have not found a satisfactory solution for this that would not be at the expense of the residents of the communities where it might end up.
, available only in Czech language