Westinghouse describes itself as "deeply disappointed" by the cancellation by CEZ of the tender for two new nuclear units at Temelin.

Westinghouse describes itself as "deeply disappointed" by the cancellation by CEZ of the tender for two new nuclear units at Temelin in the very final stages of the process but says it "optimistically looks forward to continued discussion in regard to alternative options." The other remaining bidder, the MIR.1200 consortium (consisting of Rosatom (Atomstroyexport and Gidropress) plus Skoda) also noted that the cancellation by CEZ (which is predominantly state owned) doesn’t necessarily mean the end of nuclear new build in the Czech Republic, with a new comprehensive nuclear development plan expected from the government by the end of this year.
The economics of the Temelin project have deteriorated in recent years and in the absence of any price guarantees for its output it had become non-viable. The Czech government says that, while it supports nuclear power and other low carbon generation technologies, it is not prepared to provide any form of state supported guarantees (particularly in view of problems arising from the over-generous subsidy of PV).
"While originally the project was fully economically feasible given the market price of electricity and other factors, today all investments into power plants, whose revenues depend on sales of electricity in the free market, are threatened", said CEZ CEO Daniel Benes. "In the future it will be necessary to co-operate closely with the state in order to secure further development of nuclear energy."

Watching developments with particular interest will be Areva, which was contentiously disqualified from the Temelin bidding in 2012.