Nuclear shut-down shakes the Baltic

By Dace Akule

Date: 03/02/05

Lithuania's nuclear power plant at Ignalina is in the process of being shut down and the repercussions are being felt throughout the Baltic states. The closure of the first reactor on 1 January was greeted in the Baltic media with much talk of possible energy supply shortages and price hikes in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

The allegations were exaggerated and ungrounded, as in recent years energy from Ignalina's first reactor has been mostly exported to Russia's Kaliningrad and to Belarus. But the decommissioning of Ignalina's second reactor, set for 2010, is obliging Latvia and Lithuania to look for alternative energy sources.

"The planned shut-down of the first reactor was well-known for several years so we have had time to prepare. Consumers have not felt and will not

feel changes in the coming years," said Dainius Arturas, secretary of Lithuania's ministry of economy.

At present around 70% of Lithuania's power is supplied by the second Ignalina reactor. From 2010 that too will stop operating, according to a pre-accession agreement between Vilnius and Brussels stating that Lithuania's Soviet-style nuclear power plant does not meet EU safety criteria. The EU has promised to support the closure with a total of €525 million during 2006, with more coming later. But it is not a question of money for Lithuania.

"It is a question of national and economic independence as nobody wants Lithuania to become a net importer of energy," said Arturas, adding that intensive discussions were currently taking place on how to keep Lithuania's status

and benefits as an energy exporter. Some believe in renewable energy sources, while others insist on the building of a new modern and safe atomic unit.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus is among the latter. He has stated that Lithuania should "remain a nuclear state". This opinion was echoed by Algirdas Brazauskas, the country's prime minister, who announced that his country would seek international help to build and finance a new nuclear reactor. It would cost around €2 billion, said Algirdas.

While such plans are unclear, Latvia - the only Baltic country that depends on energy imports - needs to plan ahead. Up to 50% of power consumed in Latvia comes from Lithuania, Estonia and Russia.

"We are looking at the possibilities of reconstructing existing power plants as well as the possibilities of building new stations," said Evita Urpena from Latvia's ministry of economy. She added that Tallin, Riga and Vilnius had started working on a project called Estlink that would connect the Baltic power systems with the Nordic networks, allowing them to receive energy supplies from the northern countries.

In the meantime Estonia is looking forward to reaping benefits from the closure of Ignalina as the demand for its energy, especially from Latvia, is most likely to increase. "We can cover our own needs, so the shutting down in 2010 will have no negative consequences for us," said Martin Jasko from Estonia's ministry of economic affairs.

• Dace Akule is a freelance journalist based in Riga, Latvia.

The shutting-down of the first reactor of Ignalina, Lithuania's Soviet-style nuclear power plant, on 1 January 2005, did not lead to the energy supply shortages and price hikes in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia expected by some. But the decommissioning of the second reactor, set for 2010, is obliging Latvia and Lithuania to look for alternative energy sources.