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France: lifetime extension of 1300 MW reactor fleet

The 20 reactors of the 1300 MW fleet were originally designed for operation of 40 years. Now their lifetime shall be extended. A consultation is ongoing until 30 Sept 2024, but only for generic aspects of the fourth Periodic Safety Review. Even after performing the envisaged lifetime extension program, a considerable gap between the safety…

NPP Cernavoda-1: EIA for lifetime extension

The Cernavoda-1 reactor in Romania is in operation since 1996. CANDU reactors have a design life of 30 years. The lifetime shall be extended from 2029 for 30 years according to an information from operator Nuclearelectricas’s website. This would result in a total lifetime extension of even 33 years. A transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment is…

NPP Paks in Hungary

Paks II is one of the most controversial new nuclear power plant construction projects in the EU. Apart from the general problems of nuclear energy utilisation (lack of economic efficiency, risk of accidents, unresolved nuclear waste disposal, etc.), the availability of balanced information for the public is not sufficient, especially in Hungary, also due to…

EIA on lifetime extension of Olkiluoto 1&2 has started

Olkiluoto 1&2 in Finland started operation in 1978 and 1980. They have already undergone one lifetime extension from the originally planned 40 years up to 60 years, which will be reached in 2038. The ongoing procedure comprises a lifetime extension for additional 10 or even 20 years up to 2048 or 2058, respectively. The reactors…

Tricastin-1 got life-time extension license without EIA

On 10.08.2023, the French regulator ASN’s decision on the lifetime extension of Tricastin-1, which had been taken already on 29.06.2023, was announced – and this without a transboundary EIA. This is in violation of the Espoo “Guidance on the applicability of the Convention to the lifetime extension of nuclear power plants”.

Lifetime extension of Doel-4 and Tihange-3/Belgium – Environmental Impact Assessment

The Joint Project participated in the EIA on the lifetime extension of the reactors Doel-4 and Tihange-3 in May 2023. Both reactors will be 40 years in operation in 2025, now their lifetime shall be extended until 2037. As both reactors have been constructed before the EIA laws came into force, they have never undergone…

Life-time extension of NPP Krško, Slovenia

NPP Krško started its commercial operation in 1983. It is owned by Nuklearna elektrarna Krško d.o.o. (NEK). Its operating licence was valid until the end of 2023, NEK wanted to extend the life-time for 20 years until 2043. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted, also transboundary. The environmental license was issued in January 2023.…

Joint Project Webinar: EIA on NPP lifetime extension: How to make use of the new rules for your campaigning

The Joint Project was preparing this webinar to provide support for NGOs and the public to initiate and join an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for the life-time extension of nuclear power plants (LTE) now that the Espoo Guidance has been decided. In the webinar, about 20 participants from 13 countries took part. Programme Presentations…

Environmental Impact Assessment on the life-time extension of Loviisa 1&2, Finland

NPP Loviisa consists of two units, Loviisa 1 and 2. Loviisa 1 started commercial operation in 1977 and Loviisa 2 in 1980. The NPP is owned by Fortum Power and Heat Oy. The current operating licence issued by the Finnish government is valid until the end of 2027 and 2030, respectively. Fortum wants to extend…

Alarming results on geological risk at the Paks NPP site

The results of the peer reviewed report “NPP Paks II: Paleo-seismological assessment of the Siting Report and the Site License with respect to fault capability” showed that evidence for a capable fault at the site was swept under the carpet. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) guidelines, the Western European Nuclear Regulator’s Association…