Minister of Energy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Coric said that, although Croatia is co-owner of nuclear power plant Krsko, it was not officially informed on Slovenia’s plans to build a second unit at the plant, for which the energy permit was issued earlier this week.
Minister Coric said that the construction of a new unit, if there are no problems, will take the next ten years. In this context, Croatia has not yet been officially notified about Slovenia’s decision to pursue the project. The only thing that has been communicated at the moment is the extension of the plant’s operational life until 2040. The construction of the new unit requires a number of preliminary works in Slovenia, and then a clear definition for financing such a project.
He added that Croatia meets about 10 % of its electricity needs from NPP Krsko, which is reliableand stable source of electricity. Croatia will not look benevolently at the construction of a new unit. Whether there will be a possibility of co-financing, will be seen when Slovenia completed the financial structure of the project. Safe and stable sources of electricity are in Croatia’s interest, especially in medium to long-term.
Asked about the EU’s intentions to increase gas prices due to the inclusion of the cost of emissions for household energy and petrol in a few years, Minister Coric said that a financial help on this matter will be established in the EU and Croatia would consider its position. In general, he believes that the energy transition is a great opportunity for Croatia, which does not depend much on coal, which is used for electricity generation only in TPP Plomin.
