Independent News about Estonia
Visaginas plant – The Baltic Nuclear project
The three Baltic countries plus Poland are the main partners of the Visaginas Nuclear power plant project, which it will be completed in 2018 as Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said.
According to Estonian authorities the plant will not be included in the list of sensitive targets
Existing Lithuanian Ignalina nuclear power plant will be closed in 2010 as EU officials are concerned about its reactor’s design, too similar to the one that exploded in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986, becoming one of the biggest nuclear disasters in history.
This fact will make Lithuania to be ready for a different energy plant an here is where Ignalina’s project takes place.
Estonia and Latvia will also participate to make this plan successful. Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis stated that despite the financial problems through Latvia, the country will continue supporting the project, while Andrus Ansip, Estonian Prime Minister, said that the project is interesting for the country due the imperfections of the current Estonia’s energy plants.
Mr. Einari Kisel, Estonia’s Deputy Secretary General of Energy, asserted to EFP that Estonia is interested in the development of Visaginas Nuclear power plant project as potentially the cheapest electricity supplier for the whole Baltic region.
“After the changes in the EU emission trading scheme in 2013 all fossil fuel based power producers will increase the power price substantially. Nuclear power plant in Lithuania would drive power prices in the whole region lower. The oil-shale based power plants in Estonia will continue to work as well, as they will be upgraded to meet the environmental standards of the EU by 2016, as was agreed in the Accession Treaty. They would operate in parallel with nuclear and other power producers, but probably with less production” said Kisel.
Potential military target?
Last few weeks have been several news (Nov 5th, Nov 23th) of the concern of the Baltic region on the latest Russian military exercises and even Estonian Minister of Defense Jaak Aaviksoo met with U.S. Defense Secretary to discuss about new plans to protect the country.
While seeing all of these topics, EFP wondered if together with the new Visaginas plan project would be any kind of defense plan of it, as being the main energy supplier in the region could be taken into account in a potential conflict.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications refused to comment about this hypothesis saying that they did not share our suspicions when we proposed them some hypothetic scenarios based on the war plan published by Postimees the day after the Russian invasion to Georgia.
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It's just stupid EU requirements, that Lithuanian government signed for. The second Reactor of Ignalinas Power Plant could and would work 15-20 years more easily. But, since it doesn't match EU standarts and all other shit, plus EU doesn't want small contries to be independent from electricity, so they have decided to bring up these conditions.
So we are now where we are. Baltic states will have to beg for electricity from other EU old members, and pay double or even triple price for the same Nuclear, but Nuclear European power. Halelujah!
It reminds me when, back some years ago, I cooled down a student who was saying that being part of the EU was awesome cause EU was great.
It is a magnificent political creation and I love it – but it has prices to pay for being a (small) part of it.
except that Lithuania isn't connected to the European electricity network, so it couldn't import electricity from the 'old EU' states if it wanted to. It would instead have to import its electricity from Russia, or switch to gas powered electricity production, the latter being more likely, though still requiring imports of gas, also from Russia.
and with Visaginas already in the planning, and with almost 3x the power capacity of Ignalina, Lithuania won't be left in the dark (metaphorically speaking) for too long
closure of Ingalina isn't great news for Lithuania, but it could be worse
Regarding potential military targets, guys, don't waste your time writing this crap, Russia doesn't care about Estonia at all, it's just small pimple of Europe, which wouldn't give any use attacing it. I'm sure if Russia would go for it, it would go for BIG thing!
Here I agree on the first part but disagree on the second one cause, simply, Russia fortunately does not have the means to face a real war.
But I am also sure plans exist cause there are limits even to human stupidity.
Scratching your balls metaphor. Europeans working together is like a guy scratching his balls, He has a lot of ideas, some of them grand, but when it comes time to get something done, they can't follow thru. This nuclear project will go over budget and over time and get eaten away by corruption and effects of polaks, lithuanians, latvians and estonians working together. These are not indians, japanese, chinese and americans, when working together, change the world, these are eastern europeans who when they work togther have the same effect as multiplying fractions.