Opposition LMP wants wind turbines instead of Paks II NPP expansion

Opposition LMP on Tuesday accused the government of amending the contracts on the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant “to serve Russian interests rather than allowing permits for wind turbines in Hungary”.

LMP politician Örs Tetlák told a press conference that a Hungarian company would replace Russian state-owned Rosatom as the main Paks contractor for the two new blocks under construction, and all the risks would now be borne by a Hungarian firm, MTI wrote. Rosatom promised a “turnkey plant at a fixed price” in 2014, Tetlák said. Now, the switch in contractors may drive a jump in costs, and the costs of potential delays will also weigh on Hungarians, he said.

LMP maintains that the project should be scrapped and not amended with “disadvantageous and senseless modifications”, he said. Rather than building a new nuclear plant, the government should work to increase the country’s energy efficiency and to use sustainable resources, he said. To achieve that, Tetlák called on the government to fulfill its commitment to the European Commission to allow wind turbines in the country, which it had failed to do until the deadline on March 31, he said. The commitment was one of the conditions to access resources from the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Facility, he said.

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