Serbia could compensate for the megawatts of electricity it lacks by building a nuclear power plant, which is being talked about more and more loudly.
There are two solutions – for Serbia to build its own nuclear power plant or to buy a minority stake in one that is being built in our environment. The mathematics are clear, the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) says that we are missing 700 megawatts, which in earlier plans should have been covered by the construction of two power plants. On the other hand, the price of electricity coming from nuclear power plants is the cheapest. Experts believe that our needs in the future would be met by a nuclear complex of 1.4 gigawatts of installed capacity, in the construction of which about five billion euros should be invested.
President Aleksandar Vucic stated earlier that it would be good for Serbia to have a nuclear power plant, but that its construction costs from 12 to 15 billion euros, so we do not have that money at this moment.
– There was an idea for Serbia to buy five or ten percent of the nuclear power plant in Bulgaria, because we do not have the money to build our own. But if someone in the area gave us to own, for example, ten percent, we would agree immediately and buy it. Because half of the energy that goes to Northern Macedonia, Pristina, Albania, goes from the Bulgarian nuclear power plant – Vucic said recently.
He also talked with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, about the construction of a nuclear power plant in Paks, and expressed his readiness to be a minority owner, in order to ensure our energy security.
However, it should be known that the development of nuclear energy in our country is hampered by the moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants from 1989, after the Chernobyl disaster. As a consequence, it had the abolition of that department at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. So today we do not have a sufficient number of experts to make such a plant ourselves, but not for some other simpler tasks.
– I think that this is a law that should be repealed immediately, not because we would build a nuclear power plant. The smallest nuclear power plant of this modern generation costs between seven and eight billion euros. However, nuclear technologies have not been studied at Belgrade universities for 30 years since the law was passed. They are not experts who should build, but they are experts in radiation protection – Ilija Plecas, a scientific advisor at the PE “Nuclear Facilities of Serbia”, said.
Jelica Putnikovic from the Energy Balkans portal believes that it is not a bad idea to start a joint investment in the construction of a nuclear power plant with foreign partners.
– There is a project for the construction of “Djerdap 3” as a hydroelectric power plant that would be reversible, and it is planned to include a nuclear power plant as part of that. But Serbia does not have the money, nor enough domestic experts to present such a project. It would be wise to find a strategic partner, and there are many of them from abroad who have shown interest in something like that in previous years. Small nuclear power plants are certainly the future and that is where we should follow the world. They have not yet taken root in much more developed countries, but they are now being counted on most seriously, because renewable energy sources have shown that they cannot guarantee energy stability – said Putnikovic.
She adds that it is much better to have a power plant on its territory than to rent one in a foreign country. When energy crises occur, each country will first look to meet its needs and may not honor the agreement and deliver to us as much as we need.
– The guarantor of energy stability is to have sufficient energy capacity on its territory – Putnikovic believes.
In the event that Serbia returns to the industrial level since 1989, it is estimated that electricity consumption would increase at least twice. However, there are different opinions regarding energy. Milos Zdravkovic, an energy expert, says that Serbia would go bankrupt if it supported “environmental circles from the West” and closed the existing thermal power plants and gave up the construction of another one in Obrenovac.
Obrenovac, he adds, annually produces electricity at prices that are lower than the world by 1.5 billion dollars.
– Imagine how much it would cost to import it. Our interest is to build TPP “Kolubara B” so that we do not get into that situation – he believes.
Bearing in mind that the preparation and construction of a nuclear plant takes 10 to 15 years, in the process, according to Zdravkovic, it should start as soon as possible.
– While the energy crisis and rising gas prices are shaking the European Union, 10 EU members, led by France, are asking the European Commission to enable greater use of nuclear energy by classifying investments in it as a green investment. But the German-led bloc strongly opposes the initiative, expressing concern over the safety of nuclear power generation. On the other hand, the president of the Association of Employers “Gesamtmetall”, Stefan Wolf, advocates the return of Germany to nuclear energy – says Zdravkovic.
What’s the point? If, as he adds, nuclear energy turned green, it would mean that private individuals could also invest in it, and if that happened, it would be much easier to get investments. In the long run, Zdravkovic believes, it would be better to build a nuclear power plant ourselves. First one, and then the other. In the short term, it is wise to invest in one of the nuclear power plants in the region.
At the end of 2020, 443 nuclear power reactors were in operation in the world, of which about 80 percent in developed countries. The capacity of nuclear power plants in the world could double by 2050, from 392 gigawatts to 792 gigawatts. Of the 450 nuclear power plants on the planet, a third are in Europe, while 60 new reactors are currently being built. The greatest resistance to the construction of nuclear power plants is the fear of waste, which takes 100,000 years to decompose.
But on the other hand, the Krsko nuclear power plant annually produces about ten tons of nuclear waste, which takes up an area of one cubic meter. At the same time, TPP “Nikola Tesla” (which provides almost 50 percent of electricity in Serbia) burns three million tons of coal in a year. Three million cubic meters of space are needed to store the burned material, ie slag.
Mini nuclear power plants in five surrounding countries
Projects to expand four nuclear power plants are under way in the surrounding countries, and Bulgaria would build more, but all plans have been delayed for years. Hungary is working on the “Paks 2” project with Russia, which would expand the existing nuclear power plant. Last year, that state proposed to Serbia to export surpluses from “Paks”, and in return to receive electricity from hydroelectric power plants. “Paks 2” is, in fact, a new power plant that should replace the existing one, and it is expected to start operating in ten years. This nuclear plant is located about 80 kilometers from our northern border.
Romania intends to renovate and expand its Chernavoda nuclear power plant in the country’s southeast in co-operation with Canada. Bulgaria is also still not giving up on expanding its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, but also on the possibility of building other such plants. Slovenia operates its Krsko nuclear power plant together with Croatia, and negotiations are underway to build another reactor. New nuclear power plants in Europe are being built in Finland, Slovakia, France, Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
– If we are talking about an accident, Serbia is under attack, regardless of whether we have a nuclear power plant or not. So, it is one thing that we need to build it, and another that almost everyone around us has them – said Zdravkovic.
In the region, but also beyond, only Serbia and Italy do not have their own nuclear program.
The biggest fear of the citizens is related to safety during the construction of nuclear power plants. Especially after the severe accidents in Chernobyl (Ukraine) and Fukushima (Japan).
Nuclear facilities are designed to withstand the most devastating earthquakes, floods and aircraft strikes. And their safety as well as the storage of nuclear waste are controlled by simulating an accident, the so-called “stress tests of endurance”.
– Regardless of the fact that Chernobyl and Fukushima happened, these are two accidents that happened due to human error, not due to a technical error. Today, the nuclear power plants of that fourth generation are absolutely safe and the nuclear one is the last in the scale of danger – Ilija Plecas told RTS.
Vucic is still talking about the nuclear power plant
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today in Glasgow, where a global climate summit is being held, that he should soon meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and discuss with him the possibility of Serbia buying a certain ownership stake in the Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant. Vucic said for Pink that Serbia could buy a five, 10 or 12 percent share in that nuclear power plant. He also said that Serbia is interested in other nuclear power plants in the region and that he will see with the Bulgarians whether we could buy a share from them, Blic Business reports.
