On 14 January 2010, the Slovenian utility, GEN-energija, sent an application to the Economy Ministry for a permit to build a second unit at the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Slovenia’s sole nuclear site. The utility plans to build a generation III PWR reactor with a capacity from 1100MW to 1600MW.

Technical studies have shown that the construction of the new unit is justified by economic, security of supply and environmental considerations. The Krsko NPP unique reactor has to be shut down by 2023, but the government is considering extending its lifetime. The new unit, which is planned to be completed between 2020 and 2025, will replace the current one that generates around 40% of the country’s total electricity production. The nuclear option is part of the new National Energy Programme that will be debated in the National Assembly this spring. The Parliament’s decision on the new unit expected later this year should not pose any problem, since nuclear has been uncontroversial in the country for quite some time and no parliamentary party opposes it.

The Krsko NPP was built in 1983 in partnership with Croatia when both countries were part of the former Yugoslavia. Since the independence of both countries there has been a debate on the status of the Krsko NPP. An agreement was signed in December 2001 that specified that Slovenia and Croatia are co-owners of Krsko and that both must share the operational and production costs from July 2002 onwards. The agreement also stipulates that the two countries must share the electricity production. The new unit at Krsko will belong entirely to the Slovenian state.

The waste management issue was also partly solved recently. On 30 December 2009 the Government of Slovenia passed a decree confirming the site for the permanent storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The site, Vrbina, is close to the existing nuclear power plant at Krsko and its construction is scheduled to start in two to three years. The decision was urging as the capacity of the NPP Krsko onsite storage was going to become a critical factor for the normal operation of the plant. The repository’s storage capacity will be enough to store half of the waste produced by Krsko during all its operational duration and its decommissioning.

For further information, please visit the website of GEN-energija.