Hungary Energy Minister insists Paks II will be built

European “greenism” comes at a heavy price

Energy Minister Csaba Lantos began his presentation by stating that current energy market trends have made it clear that energy security is also a matter of national security.

Although there are currently many variables in the energy equation, he identified two key trends: digitalisation and decarbonisation. According to the minister, these two processes will complement each other and determine the energy systems of the future. While the European Union's sustainability-focused programme is welcome, it is heavily influenced by politics and poses serious challenges to the competitiveness of the European region.

The European Union has the potential to be a fantastic vehicle, but it is currently struggling for a variety of reasons. It is true that it is a complex organisation, and achieving optimal performance is difficult. However, we are currently heading for a precipice,

the minister said. He added that the Draghi report also provides evidence of this. Furthermore, he said that, a year after the report was published, the situation had worsened.

To support this, the minister said that the 20th century was dominated by various 'isms', and that a new one has now emerged in the 21st century: 'greenism'. He cited the ETS system as an example of this, stating that it is “a fundamentally good idea, but very poorly implemented”. While others still treat coal-fired power stations as part of the energy system, Europe is distancing itself from regions that dominate the global economy by making this move.

And all this despite the fact that the EU accounts for only 6% of global GHG emissions,

he said, adding that “Hungary contributes only 0.12%.”

The EU is the only entity to have undertaken a commitment (Fit for 55) that no one else has. Currently, we are at 37%, representing an annual reduction of roughly 1%. "To meet the target, this figure would need to increase to 2.6%," he pointed out, adding that Hungary is performing well in this area, having already achieved savings of 48%.

However, Csaba Lantos said that

this should not be followed because it is the wrong path.

Hungary's energy map from a bird's eye view

Csaba Lantos emphasised that Hungary is at the forefront of installing renewable energy-based power generators.

Between 2015 and 2024, the country's installed renewable capacity grew at the fastest rate in Europe, increasing by around eightfold,

the minister pointed out. He also revealed that the country's total installed capacity from energy producers is 16 GW, most of which comes from the Paks Nuclear Power Plant (2 GW) and solar power plants (8.1 GW).

It is no coincidence that he identified five areas that could be a breakthrough from the current situation dominated by energy imports and form the cornerstones of Hungarian energy sovereignty.

• Nuclear energy
• Solar energy
• Energy storage
• Gas power plants
• Geothermal energy.

Emphasised nuclear energy first and foremost, Csaba Lantos said:

We are seeing a reversal of the trend in the nuclear energy sector.

He cited Italy as an example, where all four nuclear power plants were previously shut down based on political considerations following a referendum, but are now being reopened at the initiative of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "This guarantees one of the cheapest and most predictable sources of electricity, in which we also have half a century of experience. Without nuclear energy, there can be no sustainable climate policy,” he added.

The minister also announced that work is already underway to extend the operating life of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. “All of our analyses prove that the operating life of the reactor units can be extended, and that they can be operated safely,” he added. He mentioned that the first reactor unit began operating in 1982, despite the foundation stone being laid in 1975, indicating a much more regulated environment.

Following the European Commission's decision, the minister made a very important statement:

Paks II will be built, and we will not give up on bringing SMRs to Hungary either.

After the topic of nuclear energy had been discussed, another topic was brought up: Csaba Lantos said that while Hungary had a solar energy capacity of 1.4 MW in 2010, this figure has now increased to 8,100 MW. This eightfold increase essentially puts us ahead of China. However, he added that "it was not difficult due to the very low starting point".

This is a huge achievement, but there is also a downside to it,

he pointed out, showing a production-consumption curve to demonstrate that solar panels now generate so much electricity during the day that Hungary is producing excess electricity for export. "However, it does matter when we export these quantities," he noted.

He continued his presentation by saying that, so far this year, we have already had 14 days when we were net exporters. "This has allowed us to reduce our total electricity imports by 5-10%," he said, adding:

We are at the point where what we have achieved in solar energy over the past 15 years must be replicated in the field of energy storage. This will undoubtedly be the most important area in the coming years,

and the state intends to actively support this process.”

He also said that other types of flexibility will be needed, such as storage facilities. The 1,500 MW of flexible capacity that the new gas-fired power plants will provide will be useful for this purpose. "It seems like a lot, but Germany wants to install 20 GW," he pointed out.

Lantos also mentioned the situation with wind farms. Reducing the current 12 km safety distance to just 700 metres could unlock significant potential.

Reducing the safety distance from 12 km to 700 m could open up great opportunities. We will always be beatable in wind turbines; that's just the way it is.

At the end of the presentation, he mentioned that they would like to use biogas much more extensively. “Instead of burning straw, we should ferment it and use it more efficiently,” he said, pointing out that geothermal energy can be used sustainably if utilised properly.

Cover photo: Portfolio