Lithuania has only one nuclear facility: the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which consists of two Chernobyl-type 1,500 megawatt RBMK reactors. Under its EU accession agreement, Lithuania agreed to shut down Ignalina by the end of 2009. Vilnius has honored its promise by shutting down Unit 1 on 31 December 2004 and preparing for the shutdown of Unit 2, scheduled for 31 December 2009. The EU provided funding to support the shutdown of Ignalina with 529 million euros in 1999-2006 and has earmarked another 837 million euros for this purpose in 2007-2013.[1]
The reactor tube tops of a RBMK reactor at Ignalina. Source: Argonne National Laboratory
In February 2006, the leaders of the three Baltic states announced their support for an initiative to build a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania. The utilities of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania released a joint feasibility study in October 2006 calling for the construction of at least one new nuclear reactor of between 800 and 1,600 MW in Lithuania to replace Ignalina-2.[2] In July 2008, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland agreed to set up the Visaginas Nuclear Plant Company, which oversee construction of the new power plant with a planned capacity of 3,000 to 3,200 megawatts.[3]
Ignalina provides about 75 percent of Lithuania's energy.
Sources:
[1] "European Commission: Lithuania Must Close Nuclear Power Plant by End 2009," Baltic News Service, 9 October 2008; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, "www.lexis.nexis.com.
[2] "Baltic utilities say new nuclear is best new capacity choice," Nucleonics Week, 26 October 2006.
[3] "Visaginas recognised with nuclear site name", World Nuclear News, 30 July 2008.
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Updated March 2009 |
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