RIGA - Seeking to satisfy Poland's aggressive demand to receive up to 1,200 megawatts of output from Lithuania's planned new nuclear power plant, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said a solution could emerge if the conclusions of an environmental impact assessment allow for the construction of a higher capacity facility.
"If the conclusions of the environmental impact assessment are positive and we are able to build a facility with a capacity in excess of 3,000 megawatts, with two reactors, these demands might be effectively satisfied," Kirkilas told reporters Oct. 11.
While on a recent visit to Vilnius, Polish Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak warned that Poland needed a 1,200 megawatts share of the new nuclear plant's output, and added that all other bilateral energy projects, including the building of a power link, might be delayed. Those remarks prevented the two countries from signing the agreements on construction of the new nuclear power plant and on the setting up of a company for construction of the connection between the Lithuanian and Polish power grids.
Kirkilas said the emergence of a "bad shadow" in the relations with Poland is holding up progress on the so-called "energy bridge" and nuclear power plant, and that he hopes "these are only the negotiating positions which the Poles want to reinforce." He considers that "Elections are taking place in Poland and I believe [the postponement] has to do with the elections."
He stressed that the current situation burdened the negotiations between the Baltic states and Poland.
The official version for the delay in the agreement's signing was that of a failure to prepare all necessary documentation. However, some Lithuanian diplomats and politicians unofficially described the Polish decision to refrain from signing as a "huge mistake" and spoke about a possible crisis in relations.
Kirkilas restated the promise made by the Polish president that the energy bridge agreement would be inked after Oct. 29.
Poland wants to receive about one-third of the power generated at the new power plant, though its participation is limited by Lithuanian legislation to a 22 percent share, equal to what Latvia and Estonia tap into, and has threatened to pull out of the project unless its demands are met.
Underlining the importance of the power grid tie-up, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said that the European Union needs to take a more active role in integrating Europe's isolated energy markets into a common European energy network. "I urge the European Union to show real and more active support for regional energy projects aimed at solving the problem of the so-called 'energy islands.' This should be our common goal," he said in a speech to the Vilnius Energy Security Conference. The Lithuanian leader criticized some EU member states for pursuing individual energy policies to secure energy supplies, while ignoring their partners in the EU.
Baltic energy companies Lietuvos Energija, Latvenergo and Eesti Energia agreed last year to build the nuclear power plant in Lithuania, with completion scheduled for 2015. Lithuania then signed an agreement bringing Poland into the project. The existing Ignalina nuclear power station, in Lithuania, now operates with only one power unit. The first power unit was shut down at the end of 2004 and the second unit is to be closed in 2009.
According to initial figures, the capacity of the new power plant as first proposed was pegged at 800 - 1,600 megawatts, contingent upon results of a preliminary feasibility study. Recent calculations now put the 3,300 megawatt nuclear power plant cost at about 7.1 billion euros.
