It is evident that the new NPP units to be constructed in Paks meet all the EU requirements of Fukushima, said at the Hungarian Nuclear Society's XVII. Nuclear Technical Symposium dr. Attila Aszódi. Following the welcome speech by Miklós Ördögh, the State Secretary responsible for maintenance of the performance of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant held the opening presentation at the two-day meeting of the representatives of the Hungarian nuclear industry, which was organized in Szekszárd, in the Babits Mihály Cultural Center due to the great interest. This year, a hundred and sixty members have registered in the forum for exchanging experiences of representatives of the domestic nuclear industry, with fifty presentations on their agenda.

Nuclear techniques, new generation reactors, fusion technology, reactor physics, thermohydraulics, nuclear safety, radiation protection, regulatory control, operation, expert supply and education, information and the establishment of the new nuclear power plant units are the main topics of this year's symposium of the Hungarian Nuclear Society.

Dr. Attila Aszódi, in his lecture, approached Paks II. project from the direction of nuclear safety legislation. He explained that the Hungarian regulatory system is based on the EU's established safety principles and guidelines incorporating the experiences of the Fukushima accident. All Member States have undertaken to apply these.

The State Secretary underlined that, the EPC contract for the implementation of the Paks units was completed in the light of all these, which establishes a complex system of requirements and responsibilities and it guarantees that the nuclear power plant complying with the European legal requirements are built and it also meets the domestic demand and expectations as well.

– Affordable electricity, security of supply, system stability, climate protection, reduction of carbon emissions in the country, reduction of the dependence on imports of fixed energy sources, advanced and highly safe technology - these are the overall benefits of the Paks II. project – this was stated at the World Economy Energy Strategy 2018 conference by dr. Attila Aszódi.

He added that there is a significant lack of capacity, which is already apparent at the stock market price of electricity: while in 2017 the average price was around 31 EUR/MWh, this year it was around 49 EUR/MWh. It is possible to get rid of significant price-shock factors using carbon-free nuclear power plants. Paks II. will generate 19 terawatt hours of electricity per year, which avoids the emission of approximately 17 million tons of carbon dioxide, as the use of the nuclear power plant does not involve carbon emissions, while if we produce the same amount of electricity in a coal-fired power plant, it would emit 17 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

– If Paks II. would not be built then following the decommission of the current four units of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, we would have to switch to the use of fossil fuels, which would increase Hungary's carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 36 percent, according to the State Secretary for the maintenance of the performance of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.