After decades of fits and starts, the last phase of readying Unit 4 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in western Slovakia—loading the fuel into the unit—has begun.
Construction of the first two VVER-440 units at the four-unit Mochovce plant began in 1982; then on units 3 and 4 in 1986, but stalled in 1992. The first two reactors were completed and came into operation in 1998 and 1999, respectively, but units 3 and 4 were postponed for another decade. Unit 3 finally came online in 2023; and now Unit 4, which will bring the percentage of nuclear generated electricity for Slovakia to 77.5%, the highest proportion for any country.
Prime Minister Robert Fico put it very simply: “When a country has enough energy resources, it can feel safe. It’s not just about guns, it’s about whether the country has enough electricity without which you can produce nothing.”
This simple truth is underscored by an estimated 61,672 excess deaths attributable to heat in 2022 across Europe (according to Nature Medicine), most for lack of air conditioning or affordable electricity.
