The local Government Office of Baranya County in Hungary has issued an environmental license for the Paks II nuclear power project in Hungary, considering that the project meets the environmental requirements of both Hungary and those of the European Union. The Paks II project company now plans to submit a site licence application for the project, with the target of obtaining the license in the spring 2017.
The Paks nuclear expansion project aims to add two new 1,200 MW Russian-built VVER-1200 reactors on the site of the existing nuclear facility (four VVER-440 PWRs commissioned between 1982 and 1987). Construction of the Paks expansion is expected to start in 2018, with commissioning scheduled in 2025-2026. In January 2014, Hungary signed an agreement with Russia, which would finance up to 80% (or €10bn) of the project, build two 1,200 MW reactors on a turnkey basis and supply nuclear fuel over a 20-year period while handling and storing spent fuel elements in Russia. The European Commission started to investigate the construction contract, which had been awarded to Rosatom (Russia) without any public tender, as well as the fuel supply contract. The terms of the fuel supply contract were revised in April 2015. In November 2015, the Commission launched an infringement procedure against Hungary for non-compliance with EC public procurement rules for the expansion project. Another EU review is under way, to assess whether funding of the project amounts to state aid.