VILNIUS - Reports that Latvia may forge ahead with a giant gas-fired power station elicited a wave of confusion in neighboring Lithuania, which is counting on Latvia's participation in the construction of a new 4 billion euro nuclear power plant that would go online in 2015 and help provide the Baltic region with surplus megawatts.
Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said he had not been informed that Latvia might pull out of the nuclear power project and has instead decided to opt for Russian natural gas for future energy production.
"Latvia has not made any official statements, so I think that these are just speculations," Kirkilas told the Ziniu Radijas news radio station April 26.
Any plans by Latvia to use natural gas for fuel were inconsistent with the European Union's energy policy, which calls for the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide, Kirkilas noted.
Fears that Latvia might exit the nuclear power plant project were sparked by an article in the Russian-language business paper, Bizness & Baltija, which claimed that the Baltic state and Russia had agreed in principal to build a gas-fired plant that would have an output potential of approximately 2,500-4,000 megawatts. The plant would be located in Kurzeme, Latvia's western region.
The natural gas for the plant, according to the report, would come from the undersea NordStream pipeline being built by Russia and Germany, which has been slammed by Baltic leaders as a potential environmental hazard.
Latvia has one of the only natural gas storage facilities in northern Europe, and the government has hinted it would like to build another. This, in turn, would require more gas.
"These plans concern us since the Baltic region's dependence on one supplier would only increase," said Davidas Matulenis, head of the economic security department at Lithuania's Foreign Ministry, said.
The Foreign Ministry asked Latvia's ambassador for an official explanation as to the veracity of the media reports.
Lithuanian media lashed out at Latvia, with one paper 's Verslo Zinios 's claiming that Latvia was trying to undermine the nuclear power plant project, which is crucial for Lithuania since the Baltic state will lose its "atomic power" status after the Ignalina plant is shut down in 2009.
"We have a common European energy strategy, which calls for the reduction of emissions in light of climate change and environmental problems," Kirkilas said.
"The use of gas or crude would aggravate the situation, while nuclear energy is something absolutely different. That is why all countries within the region are interested in nuclear energy. The interest in the project is mutual," the prime minister added.
The enthusiasm for a new atomic power plant may have waned somewhat after several recent diplomatic blunders on Lithuania's part. Vilnius signed an agreement with Poland on dividing stakes in the atomic plant project without notifying its Estonian or Latvian partners. The foreign ministries of both countries expressed dismay at the time.
Also, Lithuania's insistence that it receive a larger stake in the project has also caused consternation in Tallinn and Riga.
Still, Kirkilas, always the optimist, believed the three countries, along with Poland, still saw eye-to-eye on the project.
"Estonia has built an energy bridge with Finland, which we could use as well," the prime minister said.
"The situation will change again after the completion of an energy bridge with Poland. A study on the building of an energy bridge to Sweden under the Baltic Sea is currently under way. These factors will lead to a uniform strategy," Kirkilas said.
