October 12 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's state-run energy group Gen-Energija is considering US-based Westinghouse, France's EDF, and South Korea's KHNP as potential contractors for the construction of the planned second unit at the Krsko nuclear power plant (NPP), according to CEO Dejan Paravan.
"Each on of them [the potential contractors] has its strengths and weaknesses," Paravan said on Wednesday at the Energetika 2023 conference in Ljubljana, as seen in a video published by local STA news agency.
The decision will not be easy or trivial and no company will be discriminated, Paravan added.
Last month, Paravan said Gen-Energija considers expanding the planned capacity of a projected second unit at the Krsko nuclear power plant to 2,400 MW from 1,100 MW to allow more companies to vie for the project, as currently, only Westinghouse has offered to provide a unit of 1,100 MW.
Energy minister Bojan Kumer said earlier this year that Slovenia will be able to make a decision on the construction of a second unit at the plant in 2024 at the earliest. The timing of this decision, likely subject to a referendum, hinges on the outcomes of a feasibility study being conducted by Gen-Energija as a potential investor, according to Kumer.
The Krsko nuclear plant, located in Slovenia near the border with Croatia, generates some 40% of Slovenia's electricity output. Situated about 100 kilometres from Austria, the facility operates a Westinghouse pressurised light water reactor with a thermal power capacity of 2,000 MW. The plant's operator, Nuklearna elektrarna Krsko (NEK), is co-owned by Gen-Energija and Croatian power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP).