After the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the Control of Public Finances, Jernej Vrtovec, called a meeting because, as he says, of delaying the procedures for the construction of the 2nd block of the nuclear plant, State Secretary Tina Seršen rejected the accusations and said that serious analyzes are needed.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the Control of Public Finances Jernej Vrtovec convened a commission meeting for March 29 on the subject of delays in the construction of the second block of the Krska nuclear power plant (JEK 2). According to recent indications from government ranks“that there is nothing wrong if the timeline for JEK 2 is delayed”namely he fears for the country’s energy independence, he said.
The previous government issued the energy permit to Gen Energia for JEK 2 already in June 2021, and in March of last year it also initiated procedures for placing the second block in the space, the former infrastructure minister recalled. Based on his experience with lengthy procedures – just the extension of JEK’s operating license took several years – he is concerned about the further timeline of the JEK 2 project, in addition to the placement in the space, obtaining building permits and cross-border assessment of environmental impacts, as Austria opposes nuclear energy. In addition, the construction of a nuclear power plant takes five to six years. “We need to start as soon as possible,” he urged.
That is why he was critical of the recent statements of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumra in an interview for the online portal N1, “that there is nothing wrong if the timeline for JEK 2 is delayed”. It seems to him that the procedures for creating the national spatial plan have stopped under this government and “that the government’s key priority is the solarization of Slovenia, while the nuclear option is placed in the background”.
Postponing decisions on the construction of JEK 2 is a strategically wrong decision, which taxpayers will pay dearly for, NSi is convinced. “Our appeal to the government is not to delay,” explained Vrtovec. “It’s not a PR move, it’s about ensuring that Slovenia secures its energy independence,” argued the need to convene a meeting of the public finance control commission, to which all key stakeholders are invited.
Tina Seršen: The procedures started last year are severely flawed
State Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy Tina Seršen rejected Vrtovec’s accusations, while admitting that right before the end of the previous government’s mandate, procedures had indeed been started, but they were so flawed that they had to be supplemented. “The conceptual design of the project was not even attached. We cannot afford such mistakes when we go into one of the largest investments in the history of the country,” she emphasized.
She reminded that decision-making procedures on the construction of nuclear power plants also take a long time elsewhere in Europe, Poland, for example, has been making decisions for almost 20 years: “It will not be easy in Slovenia either and it will take time.”
“People have the right to know how much JEK will cost”
She emphasized that people have the right to know how much the power plant will cost, how long it will take to build, and the like: “Serious analysis takes time. It is the largest investment in the history of Slovenia, and it is good that we have answers.” According to Tina Seršen, calling for a referendum on the construction of NEK 2 just because of the assessment that public support for the construction is high is frivolous. According to her, people must be informed about the project.
In the meantime, until the start of construction or at the end of the operation of the second block, it is necessary to provide other sources of energy, Seršen emphasized, adding that there was a lot of delay in this area a decade ago or even more, so we need to act quickly so that in a few years we are not still at worse than we are today.
However, Vrtovec proposes to the commission to adopt several conclusions after the discussion: that it should propose to the government to speed up the placement and construction procedures of JEK 2 as much as possible, and that it should report to the commission every quarter on the progress of the JEK 2 project and the project of building the infrastructure of the low- and intermediate radioactive waste (NSRAO) in Vrbina pri Krškem, which is still not finished.
Vrtovec: It will not work with renewable energy sources alone
The member of NSi emphasized that the world, Europe and also Slovenia have recently been struggling with an energy crisis, and as a result, with the question of how to ensure energy independence and at the same time a green transition. For Slovenia, which wants to become climate neutral by 2055, according to him, the key will be nuclear energy, which was also recognized by the European Commission as sustainable with a delegated regulation last February.
The Krško Nuclear Power Plant (JEK) now provides 25 percent of the country’s electricity. Given the fact that it has an operating license until 2043 and that, according to the national strategy, Slovenia will abandon coal by 2033 or The Šoštanj thermal power plant raises the question of how to compensate for such large outages. Vrtovec is convinced that it will not work with renewable resources alone.
Source: Rtvslo
