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Throughout the month, the nuclear power plant operated with an average utilization of about 66 percent based on measurement data from the net management of operations of the Hungarian electricity transmission system operator (Mavir). Although this is high compared to other power plants, Paks’ nuclear power plant, which operates regularly at around 90 percent annually, marks a multi-year low by its own standards.
The nuclear power plant already started August with a capacity below nominal, after the performance of its two units also fell at the end of July for various reasons. Unit 1’s performance was reduced by approximately 50 percent to 250 megawatts due to a technical failure on July 24, and it only returned to nominal performance on August 19. In Unit 2, the planned power reduction of 100 megawatts was realized on August 1 and already returned to nominal power on August 2. On the 7th, however, the planned revision of Unit 2 began, which lasted even the first days of September, which meant the loss of 500 megawatts.
Evolution of the production of power plants in Hungary in August by fuel according to Mavir data (based on the net measurement of power plant management):
In this state, the control equipment of Unit 4 failed on August 13, and as a result of the automatic protection operation that started as a result, the reactor unit was shut down. Specialists rectified the fault in less than a day and a half, but for most of this period, the Paks nuclear power plant produced less than 700 MW at just about a third of its rated capacity of around 2,000 megawatts.
As a result, on August 13, from approximately 11 am to 4 pm, the production of solar power plants in Hungary surpassed that of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which was unprecedented.
According to Mavir’s net measurement, the production of the domestic solar power plants in the hours around noon that day was more than 800 MW, which is not outstanding, since the photovoltaic power plants of Hungary have already produced around 1000 MW several times this year.
At the end of the month, there was even a third unplanned power outage at the Paks nuclear power plant, when they reported that the power to Unit 4 had dropped by 100 megawatts due to a failure in the plant’s oil control system. turbine, but the unit took less than two hours to return to rated power. performance.
In the seven months to August 2020, the power plant was operating at an average utilization rate of almost 89 percent, and in 2019 as a whole 92 percent, which is also high in terms of regional nuclear units ( Czech and Slovak). Utilization of the Paks nuclear power plant was similarly high in previous years:
It operated with 89.8 percent energy use in 2018, 91.9 percent in 2017, and 91.4 percent in 2016.
based on previous reports from the Energy and Utilities Regulatory Authority of Hungary (MEKH). The slightly lower value in 2018 is explained by the warming and low water level of the Danube and the related decrease in performance in August and October. In August this year, however, the water level and the temperature of the Danube did not affect production.
Although, according to Mavir data, the utilization rate of 66 percent of the Paks nuclear power plant in August this year is at least the lowest value in the last five years, it is still high compared to other national power plants. . In 2019, the second largest use power plant in Hungary was the Gönyű gas combined cycle power plant, which operated at 67 percent utilization, while in 2018 the utilization of the Mátra power plant in the “silver medal” declined from 63 percent to 54 percent. Solar power plants operated at an average utilization of 16 percent and wind power at 25 percent in 2019.
Of course, utilization alone doesn’t say much about power plants or their production; the different use is largely explained by the different roles that different technologies play in the system. Thus, while a nuclear power plant is basically “invented” for continuous generation, gas-fired power plants, which are also capable of continuous generation, play an important role in the balance of the system due to their good down regulation and rise, and climate-dependent renewables practically produce when they can. They can only be downregulated, but this is not very common due to climate policy commitments. The increase in prices in the European market for carbon dioxide emission quotas, also created as a result of climate policy considerations, is the main reason for the decrease in production at the most polluting national power plant, Mátra. Finally, the place of each power plant in the system is also fundamentally determined by the capacity and size of its production.
Taking all of these factors into account, it is not surprising that almost half of Hungary’s electricity production in 2019 was provided by the largest domestic power plant, the 2000 megawatt Paks nuclear power plant, accounting for more than 21 percent. percent of the installed capacity of the entire park of domestic power plants. With more than 4,000 megawatts, gas-fired power plants, which account for just over 40 percent of the total national installed capacity, produce about 27 percent of the electricity generated in the country. At the end of 2019, the stock of photovoltaic solar power plants, slowly approaching 1,000 megawatts, already accounted for almost 10 percent of the total installed capacity in Hungary, but only less than 3 percent of electricity production. Hungarian was provided last year, albeit at nearly 500 megawatts. the production of small power plants is not included.
Cover image: Getty Images
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