Italy's Enel has announced that its subsidiary Enel Produzione and the Czech company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding have agreed to a provide additional loans for the completion of Mochovce 3 and 4 in the Slovak Republic, and altered the terms for EPH to eventually buy out Enel's stake in Slovenské elektrárne. They and EP Slovakia BV have signed a new agreement that modifies some of the terms and conditions of the 2015 contract concerning the sale of the stake held by Enel Produzione in the Slovak utility.

The generating capacity of units 1 and 2 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in the Slovak Republic will each be increased from 471 MWe to 500 MWe through efficiency projects. Work to modernise the turbines of unit 2 has now begun, with similar work at unit 1 scheduled to begin around the end of the year.

The programme to decommission the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant in the Slovak Republic has achieved a major milestone, with the successful removal of the first reactor pressure vessel that will now permit remote dismantling of the facility, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced today.

The first of 33 scheduled transports aimed at moving about 5600 drums of radioactive resins and sludge departed from Italy's shut down Caorso nuclear power plant on 28 January en route to the Bohunice plant in Slovakia for their treatment and conditioning. All the drums in this second phase of shipments are expected to be transported by 2022.

Austria failed to dent the Visegrád Group of countries' enthusiasm for nuclear power as a solution to climate change during their meeting in Prague yesterday. This was evident during a press conference held after the V4 and Austria summit by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak prime ministers, Andrej Babiš, Viktor Orbán, Mateusz Morawiecki and Peter Pellegrini, respectively.

Slovenske Elektrarne, the owner and operator of unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in Slovakia, has shown a commitment to safety, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. The team also identified areas for further enhancements at the 471 MWe VVER unit, which is due to start up next year.

TVEL and Slovak utility Slovenské elektrárne have signed contract documents on the supply of nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants in Slovakia for 2022-2026 with the possibility of extension to 2030.

Slovakia's new reactor Mochovce 3 has successfully completed hot testing. Owner Slovenské Elektrárne said the plant could be ready for fuel loading this summer, although it will then have to wait for regulatory approval which could take up to eight months.

The European Investment Bank has announced a EUR60 million (USD68 million) loan to utility Slovenské Elektrárne to finance investments in nuclear safety at Slovakia's existing Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants.

Cold hydrostatic testing has been completed at unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in Slovakia, utility Slovenské Elektrárne announced. The tests mark the first time that the reactor systems are operated together with the auxiliary systems.

US company GSE Systems Inc has been awarded two contracts worth a total of USD8 million to update simulators at nuclear power plants at Mochovce in Slovakia and Kori in South Korea.

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract with Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť for the dismantling of the reactor coolant systems of two VVER-440 units at the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant in Slovakia. The project is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.