VILNIUS - A statement by a Polish Cabinet official to the effect that Poland insists on controlling a large portion of electrical output at a future nuclear power plant irked Lithuanian leaders, who responded by canceling meetings with the visiting official that had been planned Oct. 5.
Polish Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak said Poland would insist on receiving 1,200 megawatts of generation capacity in the new plant, which the four countries interested in building 's Poland and the three Baltic states 's have yet to agree on.
"If we do not receive 1,200 megawatts capacity, all projects will be delayed. The minimum capacity that would 'painfully' satisfy Poland would be 1,000 megawatts, but the normal capacity is 1,200 megawatts," Wozniak told reporters in Vilnius, where he attended an energy conference.
"All projects" appeared to be a reference to the so-called Polish-Lithuanian energy bridge, a EU-priority project that would connect the two countries' energy grids and that is necessary if Poland is to utilize its share of the planned nuclear power plant, which is to be built in northeastern Lithuania.
The statement immediately provoked bitterness, as a result of which President Valdas Adamkus and Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, citing conflicting schedules, canceled meetings planned with Wozniak.
Nemira Pumprickaite, an adviser to the prime minister, said Kirkilas had to focus on the draft budget for 2008. "There is a lot of work to do, and the prime minister will depart to Ireland early next week. The meeting has been called off since the Cabinet will complete the draft budget," Pumprickaite told the Baltic News Service.
The snub also cast a shadow over the major international energy conference in Vilnius on Oct. 10 's 11, in which Polish President Lech Kaczynski is scheduled to participate.
Though the details are not final, it appears the 4 billion euro power plant would have two reactors capable of generating a total 3,200 megawatts. By demanding 1,200 megawatts, Poland was staking claim to approximately 37 percent of total output, though its stake in the project is established by law at 22 percent.
Wozniak explained that Poland, which has a population four times larger than the three Baltic states combined, would use the capacity plant for its domestic needs and not exports. "If we want to be just passive investors and sell that electricity we would accept any quantity. But we want to supply that energy to our Polish consumers," the minister said.
Lithuania's economy minister, Vytas Navickas, said that Poland could theoretically receive electricity generated by other facilities in the Baltic state. He noted that the power plant in Elektrenai was in the process of expanding its capacity.
The nuclear power plant project, first announced in early 2006, has been bogged down in recent months, particularly after Poland failed to show up at a meeting of prime ministers this summer in Vilnius, where the four sides were expected to ink the deal. Reportedly Polish PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski could not attend at the time due to domestic difficulties, though there was speculation Poland was unsatisfied with its small stake in the plant.
Lithuania, which is eager to have Poland on board the project, defended Poland's no-show, with Kirkilas saying the neighbor just needed a bit more time to think.
Reaction in Poland to Wozniak's statement also contained a measure of surprise. The Gazeta Wyborcza, the country's largest daily, described the situation as "an atomic scandal" and opined that the power station should become "a symbol of harmonious cooperation between Poland and the Baltic states."
The paper said that Latvia and Estonia were originally against Poland's participation in the construction of the power plant and that now Poland was muddying the waters. "It was Lithuania that persuaded Latvia and Estonia to include the Poles in the project," said the daily.
The new atomic power facility will replace the Soviet-era Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which is scheduled to be closed in 2009 as part of Lithuania's pre-accession agreement with the EU.
The project is at the core of Lithuania's attempts to remain a "nuclear power," boost its energy independence and provide jobs to its nuclear specialists who as of 2009 will be out of work.
The new plant could be built by 2016-2017 at the earliest.
Wozniak did say that Poland would support Lithuania's ambition to join the UCTE system, a common electricity market for European nations. As Lithuania's Navickas said, a country cannot be included in the UCTE system simply because it wants to. "It needs the support of any member of the system," he said.
Documents that are to be given to the UCTE steering committee are expected to be signed at the energy forum in Vilnius.
The UCTE system currently unites 24 European countries and 29 energy operators.
