1. focus
association for sustainable development
Nuclear Power in Slovenia
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

2. focus
association for sustainable development
Presentation overview
► About Focus
► Brief overview of current situation
► Contradictions/conflicts
► Open questions
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

3. focus
association for sustainable development
About Focus
► voluntary, independent, non-governmental and
non-profit association of individuals
► mission is to stimulate solutions for
environmentally and socially responsible life through
- education,
- awareness raising and
-co-shaping policies
► programs: climate, energy, mobility, development
► CAN, T&E, Agree.net, FoE, Greenpeace...
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

4. focus
association for sustainable development
Current situation
► nuclear power represents 20% of Slovenia’s TPES
and about 40 % in electricity production
► on global level: 7% TPES and 16 % electricity
► nuclear power plant in Krško (NPP Krško)
- 700 MW electrical and 2000 MW thermal power
- Westinghouse Pressurized Light Water Reactor
- jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia
- planned to be in operation until 2023
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

5. focus
association for sustainable development
Slovenia‘s plans for building a new NPP
► Resolution on National Development Projects
2007-2023 (ReNRP) adopted in 2006
► alternative projects
- construction of second reactor in Krško
- sustainable energy and hydrogen economy
► ensure a safe and high-quality supply of electricity
► capacity of 1000 MW or 1600 MW, technology PWR
► begin construction in 2013, operation in 2017
► price tag: 35 – 40 EUR / MWh
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

6. focus
association for sustainable development
Contradictions/conflicts
► construction period
► price tag
► waste treatment
► consideration of energy efficiency measures
► environmental impact calculations focus mainly on
carbon emissions
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

7. focus
association for sustainable development
Construction period
► estimated construction period 2013–2016, start of
operation 2017
► Finnish case: delays that could extend to three
years, already 4 years in construction (planned to be
finished this year, in 2009)
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

8. focus
association for sustainable development
Price tag
► initial
estimated costs: 1.2 billion €
► current estimated costs: 2 billion €
► readjusted figure: 3.2 - 5 billion €
► Finnish case: a budget overrun of 1.5 billion euros –
reactor’s 3 billion EUR price tag, has climbed at least
50%
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

9. focus
association for sustainable development
Construction cost decisive, but least predictable: outlook
1000-2000
USD/kW
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

10. focus
association for sustainable development
Lifetime levelized nuclear costs (EUR/MWh)
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

11. focus
association for sustainable development
Lifetime levelized nuclear costs (EUR/MWh)
Wind ~60-70
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

12. focus
association for sustainable development
Waste treatment
► possibilityfor storage facilities for medium
radioactive waste close to NPP
► opposition from the local population
► misleading opinion polls
► storage of high radioactive waste still unsolved
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

13. focus
association for sustainable development
Nukes vs efficiency vs coal vs renewables
► in Finland investments in RES were phased out in
favour of nuclear
► competition between nuclear and efficiency or
nuclear and coal, but not with renewables
► energy scenarios do not even propose alternatives
with energy efficiency, only growth in consumption
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

14. focus
association for sustainable development
Environmental impact focused on carbon emissions
► nuclear power is not carbon free source of energy,
nor sustainable energy source
► nuclear has other environmental impacts than
carbon emissions, but those are not seriously
included in the studies
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

15. focus
association for sustainable development
Where is Focus heading in its work?
► Having anti-nukes campaign in order to raise
awareness and inform public about real costs and
risks of nuclear energy
► If nuclear power is to achieve its full potential the
public must be convinced about safety, waste
disposal, non-proliferation and costs
► Having a comprehensive feasibility study that
include RES and energy efficiency measures –
today’s decision on how we will spend money will
shape future energy picture
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

16. focus
association for sustainable development
Open questions:
► In which research field can ecological economists
support our work against nuclear power?
► Where do you identify weaknesses and strengths in
ecological economics in this kind of research?
► How would you approach research of unknown costs
(highly radioactive waste disposal, accidents...)?
► What are possibilities of life cycle assessments?
► How can ecological economists provide useful input
for Environmental Impact Assessments on nuclear
power plants?
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

17. focus
association for sustainable development
Thank you!
Christian Brandt
Focus Association for Sustainable Development
headquarters: Maurerjeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana
office: Trubarjeva 50, 1000 Ljubljana
tel: + 386 1 515 40 80
christian@focus.si
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009