Nuclear options

In all fairness, Special Envoy Václav Bartuška's report on energy security reads only partly like a PR brief for ČEZ. After Martin Veselovský of Czech Radio posted the classified text on the internet on Fri., Environment Minister Martin Bursík criticized it for being absolutely one-sided. He didn't like its emphasis on nuclear power and coal or its dismissal of renewable energy, which accounts for only 4% of the CR's electricity. The report says a maximum midterm figure for this is 6%. This all plays to ČEZ. Where the report veers from its one-sidedness, though, is in indirectly criticizing ČEZ for the selection of Tvel of Russia as the nuclear-fuel supplier for Temelín. The report warns against the use by Russia of nuclear fuel as a political weapon and says that any future reactors should use EU (German or French) technology. That's a blow to ČEZ's buddies at Gazprom-owned Škoda JS. [Czech Republic European Union Škoda Jaderné strojírenství public relations]