Czech cabinet postpones vote on nuclear power plan

PRAGUE - - The Czech government recently delayed for two months a vote on a plan calling for the building of a new nuclear power plant, a spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the delay will allow for a deeper discussion on the issue and gave no further details. But Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Martin Pecina, who prepared the 2004-2030 energy policy draft, told Reuters the government planned to hold a seminar and talks with anti-nuclear neighbour Austria.

The energy policy proposal sees building two new 600-megawatt nuclear reactors by about 2015, most likely by the state-controlled power producer CEZ. It also calls for expanding the mining areas of brown coal, a heavily polluting fuel for power plants.

The Environment Ministry has opposed any new nuclear power sources beyond the six reactors already running at the Temelin and Dukovany plants. It also demanded maintaining current geographical limits on strip brown coal mining in the country's polluted northern regions and prefers power production from renewable resources.

CEZ is Europe's second largest power exporter after France's EdF, but many of its coal-burning power stations will close down around 2015 and will have to be replaced.

The Czechs share their southern border with the fiercely anti-nuclear Austria, which resisted the launch of the Temelin nuclear power plant. Another neighbour, Germany, has also pledged to phase out its existing nuclear stations.