The Hungarian government plans to submit a proposal to parliament in the spring on a minimum two-fold capacity expansion of the country's only nuclear power plan Paksi Atomeromu Zrt., Energy and Transport Minister Csaba Molnar said Wednesday.
"Nuclear power is one of the best ways to ensure our energy autonomy, fuel sufficient for several years can be stored easily," Molnar said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.
The proposal will put forward the building of 1,000 or even 2,000 megawatts of new capacity at Paksi, to come online by the beginning of the 2020s, Molnar said.
Paksi currently has four blocs with a combined capacity of about 1,000 MW. It provided 37% of Hungary's domestic electricity generation of 39.886 gigawatt-hours in 2008.
The 30-year life-span of Paksi's four blocs expire between 2012 and 2017. The legal process for the extension is under way.
Hungary wants to decrease its dependence on external energy sources after it was hit hard by the natural gas pricing spat earlier this year between Russia and Ukraine. Natural gas is one of the prime fuels for power generation in Hungary.