Slovenia - World Nuclear Outlook Report
Current operations
The Krško nuclear power plant is a Westinghouse PWR operational since 1981. It is co-owned by Croatia's Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) and Slovenia's GEN Energija and generates about a third of the country's electricity. Its operating lifetime was designed to be 40 years, and a 20-year extension has been approved. In December 2024 the plant's operator, NEK, said it would study the feasibility of operation beyond 60 years.
Table Si.1 Nuclear capacity status (as of 1 October 2026)
| Operable reactors | Operable reactors net capacity (MWe) | Operable reactors gross capacity (MWe) | Reactors under construction | Reactors under construction gross capacity (MWe) | Cumulative carbon dioxide emissions avoided 1970-2025 (cf. coal) (MtCO2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 696 | 736 | - | - | 204 |
Nuclear policy and outlook
A second unit at Krško, referred to as the JEK 2 project, is planned. A cross-party summit held in January 2024 agreed on the necessity of both renewable and nuclear energy for Slovenia's carbon-free future.
Technical feasibility studies completed in August 2025 confirmed the suitability of both Westinghouse's AP1000 and EDF's EPR and EPR1200 for the project, while KHNP, which had been involved in earlier discussions, decided not to proceed.
In February 2026 the government formally decided to begin preparing the national spatial plan for JEK 2, with a referendum now envisaged before a final investment decision in 2029. The government appointed in June 2026 said JEK 2 would be a priority.
In addition to allowing for the expansion of the Krško plant, the national 'spatial strategy' approved by parliament in mid-2023 paves the way for building small modular reactors in the country. In November 2024 GEN Energija said it was also studying the option of deploying SMRs.
Table Si.2 Contributions to total capacity projection in 2050
| 60 year operation (MWe) | 80 year operation (MWe) | Currently under construction capacity (MWe) | Planned capacity (MWe) | Proposed capacity (MWe) | Potential capacity (MWe) | Government capacity target (MWe) | Additional capacity* required to meet government target (MWe) | Total capacity (MWe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 736 | - | - | 1200 | - | - | - | 1200 |
| *Capacity additional to operable, under construction, planned, proposed and potential capacities required to meet the government target. | ||||||||
Readiness Assessment
Slovenia combines strong institutions and a long-running operating record at Krško with a government-led preparation programme for JEK 2, but the project is still pre-decision, with no vendor selected, no investment decision and a referendum still to come.
| Country Category | Restarter |
|---|---|
| Policy Framework Readiness | Moderate-High Nuclear is embedded in national energy strategy, and the government formally began preparing the national spatial plan for JEK 2 in February 2026. The final decision remains conditional on a referendum. |
| Institutional & Infrastructure Readiness | High Slovenia has more than four decades of operating experience, a mature regulator (SNSA), experienced utility institutions, research and engineering capability, dry spent fuel storage commissioned in 2023 and a low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository under construction. |
| Programme & Project Development Readiness | Moderate The site (west of the existing plant), developer, capacity range, financing concept and spatial-planning process are defined. There is still no final supplier or investment decision. |
| Target Achievability | Moderate Operation in the early 2040s is achievable, with spatial-plan adoption expected in 2028 and a final investment decision in 2029. |