Work on the NJZ Project continues with activities within the preparatory stage.
The activities are carried out in accordance with the main milestones and activities listed in the Business Plan for the NJZ Project in the Jaslovské Bohunice location for the period 2019-2025, which was agreed by the shareholders of JESS.
Location of the nuclear source
The amendment of the AZ in 2021 made it possible to begin the full processing of the Documentation according to Annex No. 1 point A, AZ using the “envelope approach”, i.e. without choosing a specific NJZ technology so that at the beginning of 2023 an application for a permit for the location of NJZ according to the amended AZ is submitted.
In cooperation with the selected external processor, basic studies were processed for the proposal of the size of the area threatened by the nuclear facility, the project intent of the physical-technical solution at the level of the procurement project, and the processing of the documents and chapters of the other parts of the Documentation continued and will continue with the cooperation of the shareholders. At the same time, communication was taking place with the ÚJD SR regarding the preparation of this Documentation according to AZ.
Negotiations were also held with representatives of the ÚVZ SR with the aim of clarifying the content and scope of the documentation required by the ÚVZ SR for the individual stages of the process of placement of NJZ in ac
Connection to the electrical system
In 2021, the process of connecting NJZ to the electricity system of the Slovak Republic was aimed at obtaining positive opinions of the operators of the transmission and distribution system for the issuance of a “new” Certificate of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic for NJZ. The validity of the current MH SR Certificate ended even before its application in the permitting process, at the end of 2021. On the basis of JESS applications and documents, in the first half of 2021, both operators issued positive opinions on the method and conditions of connecting NJZ to the electricity system. In both opinions, the conditions for connecting to the NJZ were updated and specified.
As the international interconnections of the electricity systems of Slovakia and Hungary were put into operation in 2021, one of the key conditions of the transmission system operator was fulfilled. Among the fundamental conditions for the future period, there remains the requirement to ensure sufficient regulatory power required for reliable operation of the electricity system after the connection of the NJZ. Currently, this issue is very relevant due to the creation of a common market for regulating electricity within the whole of Europe. In 2022, new rules and measures on the regulated electricity market will come into effect, which in the following period may significantly affect the availability of regulated power in Slovakia as well. For this reason, the JESS company will also pay adequate attention to this request of the transmission system operator in the future.
At the same time, an application for the issuance of a “new” Certificate of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic for NJZ was prepared and consulted with. The application was supplemented with the opinions of all affected entities and submitted to the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic at the end of 2021. The “new” Certificate for NJZ is expected to be issued in early 2022.
Compliance of the project with ÚPN
One of the conditions of the permitting process is confirmation of the NJZ Project’s compliance with the spatial plans (ÚPN) of the cities and towns affected by the NJZ Project. In 2021, the process of implementing the NJZ Project into the ÚPN continued in the city of Piešťany and in the villages of Červeník, Malženice and Dubovany. In the village of Červeník and the city of Piešťany, the NJZ Project was successfully implemented into the ÚPN. In the municipalities of Jaslovské Bohunice, Zavar and Bučany, where the JESS application was already submitted in the previous period, the implementation process is expected to start in 2022. As of 31.12. 2021 is the NJZ Project implemented in ÚPN in ten cities and municipalities out of a total of nineteen. As the remaining four municipalities of Radošovce, Pečeňady, Ratkovce and Váhovce currently do not have ÚPN processed, JESS continues to actively communicate with the municipalities with the aim of supporting the creation of new ÚPN in these municipalities.
The intention is to implement the NJZ Project in the ÚPN of all affected cities and municipalities as soon as possible. At the same time, the state of the ÚPN region of the Trnava self-governing region is being monitored, in the event of a request to update it, JESS is ready to request the implementation of the current documents of the NJZ Project into this superior spatial planning documentation.
Local aspects
In the field of local aspects, additional data on the seismic hazard of the NJZ site and historical earthquakes were obtained using initial research on the stability of slopes in the vicinity of the epicenters of these earthquakes and the site itself. After modeling suitable locations and supplementing the available mechanical properties of the soils located on them, the upper limits of the effects of historical earthquakes were determined. The results proved the perspective of continuing such research after supplementing the input data. For this continuation, a geological task project was developed.
In the area of the concept of water management, NJZ started activities aimed at further refining the documentation of selected sections of raw water supply and waste water discharge. One of the main goals is to provide suitable documents for incorporating the NJZ project into the spatial plans of cities and municipalities. Work will begin in full at the beginning of 2022.
In connection with the activities on projects of related and induced investments for the NJZ, the document Concept of related and induced investments for the NJZ project was updated in order to add new information from the site. This update will also be made in the following periods in connection with the development of other activities of the company.
In the field of infrastructure, the work was focused on the preparation of survey work in the main corridors intended for the supply and removal of water from the NJZ site.
EIA conditions
In 2021, the project activities related to the conditions of the final opinion from the environmental impact assessment of the “New nuclear source at the Jaslovské Bohunice site” issued by the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic in April 2016 with a validity period of seven years were continued.
The consented final opinion is conditional on the fulfilment of 134 conditions for the preparation, construction and operation phase of the NJZ.
After the final opinion was issued, all conditions were analysed in detail. The selection defined the conditions that are necessary to be fulfilled in the current phase of the project.
The following activities were implemented in 2021 to meet the conditions of the final opinion:
- Continue to work with affected municipalities to update land use plans in relation to the NJZ project. As a result, there has been a significant shift in the implementation of the NJZ project in the individual land use plans – as one of the most important conditions in the current phase of the project.
- Continuation of cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic in updating the “National Programme for the Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste in the Slovak Republic”. JESS representatives are members of the working groups for the development of this document.
- Information, negotiations and consultations at the level of the ÚJD SR, MŽP SR, ÚVZ SR and with other concerned entities on the current status of the NJZ project, the way of fulfilling the conditions and documentation requirements for individual licensing steps.
- Progressive steps to ensure external compliance with some of the conditions of the Final Opinion – in particular those directly related to meeting the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act for the current phase of the NJZ project.