The news source reported that Slovenske Elektrarne, in which Enel owns a 66% stake and the Slovak government owns 22%, intends to build two new reactors by 2012-13 at the Mochovce plant.
The European Commission (EC), under the auspices of the Euratom Treaty has given its non-binding opinion, by recommending an additional set of safety measures even though the project reportedly addresses compliance issues under the national regulations of the Slovak Republic and other international proposals, according to AFP.
The proposed EC safety measures call for a full containment structure at the Russian-designed reactors, similar to the ones found at modern European nuclear power plants. The EC has also said that the new reactors need to be designed to withstand an external impact comparable to being hit by a small plane.
Slovakia’s government is reportedly keen to move ahead with the Mochovce expansion project as the region faces the possibility of importing 20% of its electricity in 2009, due to the closure of the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear reactor by 2008 year-end. The closure of this plant was a pre-condition for Slovakia’s accession to the European Union in 2004, according to AFP.
