IAEA boss says Slovenia should use nuclear experience in new reactor decision

Grossi is in Slovenia a day before the National Assembly is set to formally confirm that Slovenia will hold a referendum about a second reactor at the Krško nuclear power plant on 24 November, attending a discussion about nuclear energy hosted by Prime Minister Robert Golob.

The IAEA director general believes that the Krško power plant is Slovenia's advantage over other countries who are only now starting to consider the use of nuclear.

He has observed a change in discussions about nuclear at the international level, with the topic going from taboo only three or four years ago to 22 countries signing an intent to triple nuclear capacities at the latest UN climate conference.

There is a clear trend of growing interest in nuclear power plants, said Grossi, listing new reactors being built in China, Russia, the Middle East and Africa. It is not a nuclear revolution, he said, but it is a clear step in that direction.

Golob shares the view that the Krško power plant is an advantage for Slovenia. The climate crisis must not be ignored, it needs to be prepared for. "Nuclear is a part of the solution and not a part of the problem."

He added that the upcoming referendum would not provide a final decision about the construction of a new reactor, saying that the final decision might be adopted in 2027 or 2028.

Before that, Slovenia will need to invest over EUR 100 million in research and human resources, therefore it is important to know whether the public finds a new nuclear reactor realistic.

If the referendum outcome will be positive, his party, the Freedom Movement, will immediately file in parliamentary procedure a bill for Krško 2, Golob said.

The prime minister's office later said that Golob would personally oversee drafting of the bill, which he would first present to coalition partners. What is more, the coalition partners could broach the subject already before the government session tomorrow, Golob's office said.

At the conference Grossi also talked about renewables, saying they were of vital importance and must be encouraged. However, they will not be enough to cover the energy needs.

This position was also echoed by Slovenia's Minister of Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer, who believes that the future lies in a combination of nuclear and renewables.

He believes that expansion of nuclear capacities is the most important long-term measure in the process of weaning off fossil fuels.

Under an optimistic scenario, a final decision about Krško 2 could be made in five years, the construction permit would take another four years, while the construction would take seven years, said Kumer.

Meanwhile, Stane Rožman, the former long-serving director of the Krško power plant, called for more efficiency. He believes it is unacceptable that the construction should take seven years. Four years would be acceptable to him.

"If projects are carried out with efficiency and at an adequate pace, the finance sector will view them differently," he said.

The debate also touched on small modular reactors, with Grossi saying that the technology is ready, but the question of licensing remains open. There has been an initiative to harmonise standards and countries are willing to speed up procedures, but safety must always come first.

Those against Krško 2 meanwhile expressed the view that the planned referendum was coming too early. Environmentalist and professor emeritus at the University of Ljubljana Dušan Plut believes that people should have the opportunity to decide between a combination of nuclear and renewable and pure renewables.

"Money is only being spent on support for nuclear energy. The state should also support those who advocate a different path," he said, calling for the referendum to be postponed by six months or half a year.

In the afternoon, Grossi also appeared at a debate organised by the student councils of several faculties of the Ljubljana university. While repeating a number of points he presented at Golob's event, Grossi also underlined the importance of including the young in the discussion about a new reactor.