Serbia to make decision on small nuclear power plants in 2022

Zorana Mihajlović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy, expects the decision on whether to build modular nuclear power plants in Serbia to be made this year.

The decision on the installation of the modular nuclear power plants should be part of the preparation of the new energy strategy, which will be finished in 2022, Zorana Mihajlović underlined.

Mihajlović stressed no decision has been made yet on the moratorium on nuclear power plants that was introduced after the Chernobyl disaster. There are no official talks on co-operation with anyone in the field of building modular systems, she added.

Serbia needs new power plants, and renewable energy sources will not be enough

Serbia is, in her words, considering all options for ensuring energy stability, and modular nuclear power plants are one of the solutions because production from thermal power plants will be reduced, so renewable energy sources are not enough. Serbia should not exclude any source that can provide energy stability, Mihajlović said.

She stressed that nuclear technology has advanced dramatically since the Chernobyl accident. In addition to large reactors, as she pointed out, there are now modular nuclear reactors with a capacity of 10 to 400 megawatts. These plants, already installed in China and other countries, are made elsewhere, and get delivered ready for production at the location chosen by the customer, she explained.

Bulgaria and Romania are already in talks with US companies

Of note, Serbia’s neighbors Romania and Bulgaria signed agreements in November with companies from the United States on the installation of the first modular nuclear power plants in Europe. On the other side of the continent, Germany and Belgium are shutting down their nuclear power plants.

In recent months, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić has announced that the government is interested in buying a stake in one of the nuclear power plants being built in the region. He also said that Serbia is considering the possibility to build one.