Slovenia plans to build a new unit and expand the nuclear power plant Krsko and Croatia is surely interested in this expansion project. Croatian physicist Tonci Tadic commented on recent developments of neighboring Slovenia’s intentions to build a second unit of the nuclear power plant Krsko.
He said that Slovenia has not yet made a final decision on the construction, and the precondition is the construction of a repository for low and intermediate level radioactive waste in Vrbina. Tadic stressed that it would be reasonable for Croatia to participate in the construction of the second unit of NPP Krsko. The plant is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia, and by the beginning of construction the repository issue will be solved, namely the problem of financing the decommissioning of NPP Krsko, which has been the main stumbling block so far. He believes that Slovenia would not reject Croatia’s offer to help finance the construction of second unit, adding that there is no point to oppose the construction because Slovenia will most likely build the new unit with or without Croatia’s participation, so it is better for the country to benefit from another source of affordable electricity.
State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure Blaz Kosorok said that Slovenia is and will remain a nuclear country, adding that it needs to build the second reactor at NPP Krsko.
Last month, Croatian Minister of Energy Tomislav Coric said that Croatia would not mind getting a stable and relatively large source of electricity from the second unit of NPP Krsko. He said that if Slovenia decides to build the second unit and offers potential partners a share in financing of this expensive project, Croatia should consider participating in this long-term and stable source of electricity. Croatia, as a co-owner of a nuclear power plant and a neighboring country, is currently participating in a public debate on the cross-border impact of the project. The co-ownership relationship between Slovenia and Croatia has not passed without disagreements in recent years, and the issue of radioactive waste storage, which is also a problem in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, is currently unresolved. In this regard, Minister Coric reiterated that Slovenia’s offer for a joint repository in Vrbina is not acceptable to Croatia because the country would not be able to store all the remaining radioactive waste there. Croatia currently produces about 60 % of its electricity consumption, while the rest is imported.
