Anybody can take control of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant at the National Chocolate Festival in Szerencs – at least virtually. The interactive exhibition of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant and MVM Paks II. Nuclear Power Plant Development Ltd., the interactive truck bearing the logo ‘Energy for Our Future’, is to arrive at the fifth stop of its summer festival tour, the Szerencs Festival. The realistic nuclear power plant simulator of the exhibition can also be tried out by visitors to the cultural events.
Interested visitors will be able to model what it would be like if northern Hungary and, together with it, the Chocolate Festival plunged into darkness precisely during a concert, or how the lights would go out around Miskolc as a result of the reduction of power generation by the nuclear power plant. At the interactive exhibition, every family hungry for culture and chocolate can also hop on a power-generating bike measuring, in the absence of the nuclear power plant, how long it would take for them to be able to generate the electricity required for charging their phones, shaving or just for the sound amplification of the guitars.

The interactive truck bearing the logo ‘Energy for Our Future’, which made a debut this year at VOLT, then appeared at EFOTT, in the Valley of Arts and at the Debrecen Flower Carnival with great success, can be visited during the entire Chocolate Festival, and interested visitors can visit the exhibition during the Szeged Youth Days and the Nyíregyháza VIDOR Festival later in the summer.

The interactive exhibition has been touring festivals for the fourth year and the country since 2009; with its help, more than 200,000 people in total could already become familiar with the operation of nuclear power plants and the reason why it is important to maintain the capacity of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant from the point of view of the energy supply and economy of the country. The exhibition covers all operational nuclear power plants in the world, the most important moments in the history of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which has been operating safely for 30 years, the Hungarian electricity grid as well as the colourful flora and fauna of Paks and its environs. Technical questions are answered by those who are the most competent – experienced specialists of the nuclear power plant.

‘In Hungary, only the nuclear power plant is able to generate electricity without pollutant emissions, steadily, safely and reliably,’ said György Felkai, Communications Director of the MVM Group. ‘It can also be clearly seen on the simulator that the reduction of the output of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant would result not only in more expensive electricity, but would also entail much higher greenhouse gas emissions than today in Hungary. The oxygen saved by the four Paks units meets the oxygen demand of two million people; moreover, this amount of oxygen is roughly equal to the total oxygen output of forests in our country.’ According to István Mittler, Head of Communications of MVM Paks II Ltd., the goal of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant is to bring nuclear power plant technology – which is outstandingly safe even in international comparison and will determine the future and the competitiveness of the country for decades – close to as many young people and families as possible. All residents of the country need the affordable electricity reliably produced by the nuclear power plant. This is why it has been and will be necessary to extend the design life of the Paks units by 20 years and to continue their operation with a continuously high level of public support, and to ensure that the new units strengthen the energy security of Hungary.

The travelling exhibition is visited by renowned artists and public figures every year. From among musicians committed to environmental protection, those of the bands Ivan & The Parazol, the Hooligans and Cloud 9+ have tried their hand at controlling the nuclear power plant recently at the VOLT Festival, at EFOTT and in the Valley of Arts, respectively. In previous years, artists and athletes committed to environmental protection such as world champion and Olympic bronze medallist canoeist György Kozmann, the signer Ákos, the musicians of Irie Maffia and Balkan Fanatik, as well as the founder of the Random Trip jam project and drummer of Turbo, Jávor Delov, tested the control consoles. The basketball players of ASE and the footballers of MVM Paks FC could also become operators for a few minutes.