Croatia willing to help build new unit of Slovenia’s nuclear power plant Krško

Safe and stable sources of electricity, such as nuclear power plant Krško in Slovenia, are important to Croatia, and the country will express its interest in being a partner in the construction of a new unit there, according to Tomislav Ćorić, Croatia’s minister of economy and sustainable development.

The Slovenian ministry of infrastructure has issued an energy permit for a second unit of the Krško power plant, whose projected capacity is 1.1 GW.

According to Ćorić, there has been no official communication with Slovenia regarding the construction of the proposed second unit at Krško, but Croatia has been notified of an extension of the existing one’s lifespan until 2040.

The security and stability of supply are of particular importance for Croatia

The project will be carried out by another country, and its own power utility, but the new power station is of interest for Croatia, just like other energy sources, he said. It is interesting in terms of diversifying Croatia’s energy supply, covering the demand that currently exceeds production, and especially because of the security and stability of supply that nuclear power plant Krško is providing to Croatia at the moment, according to him.

It is up to Slovenia to make decisions on planning and financing the project, and Croatia can’t influence these decisions in any way, except by communicating its willingness to participate in some way should the neighboring country be looking for partners, Ćorić said.

Partnerships in nuclear power projects last for decades

Slovenia will choose its long-term partners, because in projects like this one, partnerships last for decades, he added. The relations between Croatia and Slovenia regarding the Krško nuclear power are based on agreements signed in the 1980s, and there have never been any problems, he said, adding that he can see no reason why the two countries could not cooperate successfully in the energy sector.

He noted that Croatia covers 10% of its electricity consumption from Krško.

It remains to be seen whether there will be an opportunity to co-finance the project, and this will be clear once things are finalized in this regard, he said, adding that safe and stable sources of electricity are in Croatia’s interest, according to local media.