The project for a promising Slovak nuclear power plant involves the construction by the American company Westinghouse of one nuclear unit based on the modern third-generation AP1000 reactor with a capacity of 1200 MW. The draft of the relevant intergovernmental agreement was approved by the European Commission in August 2025, and the agreement between the governments of Slovakia and the United States was signed in Washington on January 16, 2026. The signing of the contract for the construction of the reactor unit of the nuclear power plant is expected in 2027. In addition, a necessary condition for its implementation is the approval of the relevant investment project by the European Commission.
In our opinion, the statements of Prime Minister R. Fico regarding the project cost estimate of 15 billion euros and the commissioning date of the facility by 2040 appear to be unfounded and politically motivated. This public communication strategy was chosen taking into account the economic model developed specifically for Slovakia in cooperation with the World Bank, which, taking into account the needs of the energy sector, the stability of the transmission system, the country’s economic capabilities and the costs of decarbonizing the economy, sets the maximum price of a new nuclear power plant at 14.5 billion euros. If this budget is exceeded, an investment in a combination of gas-fired power plants and renewable energy sources will be economically more expedient. According to a realistic technical and economic assessment of the project’s prospects, the costs of the Bohunice NPP could amount to 18 billion euros, and the construction completion date is expected by 2050.
The construction of a new nuclear power plant will impose financial obligations on Slovak governments over the next 5-6 electoral cycles and limit the ability to implement other strategic investments. In the context of Slovakia’s critically high external debt, reaching 60% of GDP, and the need for long-term consolidation of public finances, the implementation of the nuclear power plant project at the expense of public funds looks unrealistic, and attracting institutional investors such as the European Investment Bank is difficult. Currently, the government is considering the option of financing the Bohunice nuclear power plant under the so-called “balancing contract” with a fixed electricity purchase and sale price for the next 30 years. This scheme consists in the fact that the construction of the power plant is financed through the export banks of the country whose companies are involved in the construction, primarily the United States, and this is reimbursed from the income from the sold electricity after the power plant is put into operation.
In the case of balancing contracts, also known as “contracts for difference”, a reference price for the electricity sold is determined. If the market price is higher than the reference price, the producer pays the difference in price to the state. Conversely, when the market price is lower than the reference price, the state pays the difference to the producer. In order to create the conditions for the implementation of the NPP project, the Slovak Parliament approved a special amendment that allows the financing of a new nuclear source starting from July 2027. The need to create new sources of electricity is associated with a forecast increase in electricity demand in Slovakia by 130% in the period from 2019 to 2050 in the context of the decarbonization of the economy, the electrification of industry, in particular steel production, the transition to heat pump heating and the increase in the number of electric vehicles. In addition, given the synchronous implementation of programs to replace coal generation with nuclear power by Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, a period of negative balance in electricity production is expected in the region.
US Secretary of State M. Rubio is expected to visit Bratislava on February 15, 2026, after attending the Munich Security Conference, and the issue of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy will be a key topic of the visit. Westinghouse’s possible participation in the Bohunice NPP project fits perfectly into the overall strategy of the American company, aimed at expanding its business in Eastern Europe, in particular in Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, as opposed to the Russian Rosatom. At the same time, R. Fico’s priority within the framework of the project of the new Slovak NPP is to exploit this topic as part of political communication in preparation for the 2027 parliamentary elections, rather than creating a new important source of electricity in the country.
