January 17 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's environment ministry said it has issued a permit for extending the lifespan of Krsko nuclear power plant (NPP) to 2043.
The procedure involved an environmental impact assessment to examine potential improvements that would reduce the likelihood of environmental accidents, resistance to climate change and external factors, and the impact on water in the light of the trend of warming watercourses in Slovenia, environment minister Uros Brezan said in a statement on Monday.
Representatives of Slovenia's neighbours Croatia, Austria, Italy and Hungary, as well as of Germany participated in the consultations regarding the project, while delegations of Italy and Austria made an additional visit to the power plant, the government said. In July 2021, the infrastructure ministry issued an energy permit for the construction of a second reactor unit at Krsko, but the decision drew fire from Austria, whose constitution bans the use of nuclear fission in its energy supply.
"The use of nuclear energy, especially in light of the current energy crisis, is an important topic for the future generations of our country, which is why we in the current government have undertaken to thoroughly examine it, taking into account the opinion of the citizens," infrastructure minister Bojan Kumer said in the statement.
As many as 50 experts participated in the environmental assessment and the resulting action plan will be finalised by the middle of 2023, the president of the management board of the plant's operator, Nuklearna Elektrarna Krsko (NEK), Stanislav Rozman, said. He added that the plant will need no physical technological upgrades and NEK expects to complete the installation of a facility for dry storage of spent nuclear fuel by the middle of this year, with which all conditions will be fulfilled and all decisions of authorities for extending the operation of the plant will be implemented.
In November, NEK completed a planned maintenance of the power plant, which involved the replacement of a total of 56 of the 121 fuel elements and an extensive standard maintenance and checking programme for mechanical, electrical and instrumentation equipment. The plant was originally designed to operate until 2023. In 2016, however, GEN Energija and HEP decided to extend its lifespan by 20 years until 2043, under the condition that the plant will undergo a security check every 10 years.