If a country interested in the peaceful atom should ever want to know how not to go about organizing the development of civilian nuclear power, it should look to Lithuania. In the past two years Lithuania's government has demonstrated such blundering awkwardness while getting its new power plant project off the ground that it is nothing short of a miracle the ruling coalition has managed to survive. If Lithuania had had decent leadership, the country would have done several months ago what it managed to accomplish last week.
Be that as it may, the project has surmounted a major legal roadblock and is finally on a new course. New amendments to the nuclear power plant law, passed last week, affirmed the establishment of a national investor/utility that will spearhead the gargantuan project. The state will own 61.7 percent of utility 's dubbed Leo LT 's while NDX Energija, a private firm, will take the remaining equity interest. Despite criticism from both the opposition and within the coalition, this split need not be a bad thing. Private capital owns and operates hundreds of nuclear reactors throughout the world, particularly in the United States; if anything, a balance of public and private interests could serve as a guarantee that the power plant, whenever it materialized, will operate effectively and profitably (anyone remember that idea of the public-private partnership?). This is not always the case with nuclear reactors in many countries.
Critics of the presence of private capital in Lithuania's nuclear power plant, which is unlikely to begin producing kilowatts before 2020, claim the language of the law is weak enough that, before you know it, Russia could eventually become part owner of the facility. This is absurd, and pointlessly paranoid. To say that NDX Energija could eventually turn around and sell to the Russians is to unfairly question the patriotism of the firm's owners, and we have no reason to doubt that it is any less stalwart than the "patriotism" of corrupt politicians who have made this Parliament one of the most compromised in recent Lithuanian history.
Looking ahead, the Baltic states and Poland will run into numerous obstacles, some daunting. Of the some 430 nuclear reactors around the world, none are owned and operated by a group of four sovereigns. It's a straightforward case of too many cooks in the kitchen. With all the conflicting interests and intense capital outlays, which include two electricity grid links with Poland and Sweden 's without which the new nuclear plant is pointless 's political skill will be paramount. But with the Social Democrats at the helm, the project could continue to trip and stumble like a drunkard trying to make his way home after getting off at the wrong bus stop. Worse, the project could become a subject of debate during the country's parliamentary election this fall, in which case there will be another months-long delay.
In the meantime, the question about what to do with Ignalina 's to extend, or not to extend 's will acquire growing urgency, and perhaps even alarm. Again, with the Social Democrats running the show, chances for successful talks with Brussels are slim. If President Valdas Adamkus negotiates, there is a glimmer of hope. 2010 is around the corner, and the time to act is yesterday. Otherwise, Lithuania will soon find itself begging Russia for electricity.
