The Prunéřov Power Station is the largest coal-fired power station in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 with installed capacity of 1,490 MW. It is located near Kadaň

Kadan

Kadaň , is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The city lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Although it is situated in an industrial part of the Czech Republic there is no major industry within the city and people usually work in offices or have to commute. There are two...

.

According to the study Dirty Thirty, issued in May 2007 by the WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

, Prunéřov Power Station is the twelfth-worst power station in Europe in terms of the relation of energy efficiency to carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

  emissions. Power station is largest single source of in Czech Republic. In 2008 it emitted 9,210 millions of metric tons of . Unit 2 (EPRU II) of Prunéřov power station has a 300 metres (984.3 ft) tall flue gas stack

Flue gas stack

A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power...

.

CEZ announced plan to modernize unit 2. This plan was challenged by Micronesia

Micronesia

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....

 on the grounds that the expansion of the power station has impact to the climate and through this to the environment of Micronesia. According Czech environment ministry

Environment ministry

The Ministry of Environment is a high executive official of government in charge of environment and natural resources political.Environment ministry may refer to:* Ministry of Environment...

 that modernization plan do not include best available technology

Best Available Technology

Best available technology is a term applied with regulations on limiting pollutant discharges with regard to the abatement strategy. Similar terms are best available techniques , best practicable means or best practicable environmental option...

. On January 26 2010 Czech minister of the Environment Jan Dusík

Jan Dusík

Jan Dusík is a Czech politician, former Minister of Environment, activist and since 18 July 2011 deputy regional director for Europe of the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva.- Biography :...

 (Green Party

Green Party (Czech Republic)

The Green Party is a political party in the Czech Republic.The party was founded in February 1990 but for a long time it struggled to obtain significant influence in Czech politics. In the 2002 legislative election the party received 2.4% of the vote...

 member) informed he was calling in international experts to carry out an environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment

An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....

 of plans to modernize the power station. In March he publicly released the report from Det Norske Veritas

Det Norske Veritas

Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition...

, that proved lack of best available technology in the CEZ plan EIA. Shortly after Minister Dusík resigned, while claiming he was under pressure from prime minister Jan Fischer

Jan Fischer (politician)

Jan Fischer was Prime Minister of the caretaker government of Czech Republic in 2009−2010. A lifelong statistician, he was previously the president of the Czech Statistical Office since April 2003.- Personal life and education :...

 to approve CEZ plan EIA. As result Green party also withdrew his second minister from government. After short led by Minister of Agriculture Jakub Šebesta

Jakub Šebesta

Jakub Šebesta is a Czech politician. He was the Minister of Agriculture and former Minister of Environment in the caretaker government of Jan Fischer.- External links :*...

 former CEZ employee Rút Bízková

Rut Bízková

Rut Bízková was the Minister of Environment of the Czech Republic. She was appointed on 16 April 2010, succeeding Jakub Šebesta, who had in turn briefly succeeded Jan Dusík after the latter's resignation in March 2010.-Career:...

 was appointed as Minister of the Environment and after two weeks in office he approved CEZ plan EIA in April.

See also

• List of fossil fuel power stations
• USA

External links

• Prunerov Power Station at cez.cz