Grossi: Nuclear energy is safer in terms of casualties than renewable sources

Every country also needs a stable source of electricity, says Dr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who is in Slovenia at the invitation of Prime Minister Robert Golob. At a roundtable where proponents and opponents of nuclear energy faced off, the primary aim was to present global developments, but they could not avoid domestic debates.

The peaceful use of nuclear energy, energy security, and the role of nuclear states in combating climate change are currently hot topics of debate in our country, as evidenced by the roundtable. Grossi believes that a country cannot meet all its electricity consumption, current and especially future, with unstable renewable sources like solar and wind power plants. In an interview to be published in the Sobotna priloga, he also stated that nuclear energy is safer in terms of casualties than renewable and even more so than fossil sources.

Grossi described the roundtable with the Prime Minister, experts, environmental organizations, and others as very important ahead of Slovenia's decision on its nuclear future. He also admitted that they discussed the future of nuclear energy globally, but with special attention to plans in Slovenia. "I am pleasantly surprised by the depth and technical breadth of the questions and responses. I tried my best to present global developments. There is a lot of interest in nuclear energy, both in Europe and globally, and this proves that we need thorough discussions here as well," he said in a statement.

The IAEA is also concerned about global developments. Two areas are particularly important. "In Iran, we are now talking with the new government, and the president and I have agreed that I will soon visit Tehran. We want to ensure closer cooperation to reach a new agreement on the nuclear program, knowing that the previous agreement with the IAEA has been set aside and is no longer in use. This has created a deficit that we need to fill," he said.

The situation is very tense, he admitted, especially due to Israel's threat to carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "I hope there will be no problems with nuclear facilities. Although the IAEA is not responsible for this, we are trying to ensure dialogue with Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons," he said.

Regarding Ukraine, the IAEA ensures the safety of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia, which is very vulnerable as it is in a war zone, very close to the fighting. "We are also present at all other nuclear power plants in Ukraine," he said. Due to Russian shelling of energy infrastructure, they have now started the process of reviewing critical infrastructure, such as transformer stations and switchyards, across Ukraine. All of this is also related to nuclear safety.

Slovenian experts expressed satisfaction with Grossi's presentation but admitted that he did not convince the opponents. They also point out that some organizations that demanded a referendum on Slovenia's nuclear future after the Chernobyl disaster and then after the Fukushima disaster now oppose the referendum. Grossi also says that some are firmly against nuclear energy, even without arguments. However, nuclear technology is the most controlled technology of all; every gram of nuclear fuel is precisely accounted for.

The IAEA strongly opposes the transfer of nuclear technology from peaceful to military use. On the other hand, Grossi believes that nuclear technology for peaceful purposes should be expanded to developing countries. Nuclear power plants have several positive social effects.