Slovenia will stick to nuclear despite Fukushima: minister

Slovenia will produce energy at its nuclear power plant for at least 20 more years despite the Fukushima disaster, Economy Minister Darja Radic said Friday. "Slovenia will not give up its nuclear plans because of the accident," she told a news conference while outlying a draft of the new national energy programme. Radic said the government had prepared five different energy supply options for Slovenia until 2030 "and all include the nuclear option." After a public debate on the proposals, the government will choose the best of the five options and send the energy programme to parliament for approval by the end of the year. Slovenia currently has only one nuclear reactor at the Krsko power plant, jointly built with Croatia in 1984 when they were part of the former Yugoslavia. The plant is still co-owned by the two countries and currently generates about 40 percent of all electricity produced in Slovenia. The Slovenian government announced it would build a second reactor at Krsko but a final decision has yet to been taken. "Among the options that we have prepared, two of them foresee the construction of a second reactor at Krsko," said Janez Kopac, head of the ministry's Directorate for Energy, adding the national energy programme should be approved by parliament.