Slovenia’s new nuclear plant could cost up to €11 billion

Building a second unit at the existing Krško nuclear power station would cost €7,000 per kilowatt, totalling €11 billion should Slovenia decide to build the most powerful of several possible units under consideration, a 1,600 MW unit, according to a price estimate by Prime Minister Robert Golob.

The price estimate corresponds to the price of the last nuclear power station to come online in Europe, the 1,600 MW Olkiluoto 3 in Finland.

Until recently, discussions regarding nuclear expansion focused on a 1,000 MW unit, but the investor, the state-owned utility Gen Energija, recently indicated it might make more sense to go for a larger unit given the projected increase in electricity consumption.

Golob assured the parliament that the costs and other details of the project would be known before the final decision was taken. “Then a referendum will be held to seek the broadest possible national consensus for constructing this unit,” he added.

“The final decision by the timeline of Gen Energija will be made in 2027,” the prime minister said.

Unless legislation changes, Golob said that the realistic completion date of Krško2 was 2047, but the government will launch procedures to simplify permitting.

A task force will be launched in August to draft the required legislative changes so that the project’s siting would be effective, the project is organised efficiently, and the financial structure is clear.

The prime minister acknowledged that Slovenia could not afford to build Krško2 independently unless permitting and construction are faster.

“The answer to whether we can afford this is very clear: No. If we want to build a second unit, then we have to do it faster, and above all, we have to change the legislative framework to be able to do so,” he said.

But he added that investors from all neighbouring countries had expressed interest in participating in the project.

cover photo:The price estimate corresponds to the price of the last nuclear power station to come online in Europe, the 1,600 MW Olkiluoto 3 in Finland. [Shutterstock/hlopex]