Lithuania should
build new nuclear power plant: president
Oct 5, 2005 - Xinhua English Newswire
Lithuania should build new nuclear power plant :president
RIGA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said
Tuesday that his country should remain a country with nuclear energy and
build a new nuclear power plant as soon as possible, said reports from
Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.
Wrangling over the shutdown of the Ignalina nuclear power plant,
located 130 km northeast of Vilnius, should come to an end, Adamkus said
in an interview with local media.
He said Lithuania has never signed documents on giving up its status
as a country with nuclear energy, adding that his country should
consider the construction of a third nuclear reactor to retain
independent power supply.
A report released by the Lithuanian parliament said the closure of
Ignalina nuclear power plant will cost 41.5 billion litas (14.6 billion
US dollars).
Experts feared that due to the huge cost, the Baltic country may be
unable to meet its commitment to shutting down the plant completely.
Earlier, the parliament ruled against a draft on postponing the
closure of the No.2 reactor at the Ignalina nuclear plant.
The Ignalina plant, which provides 80 percent of Lithuania's
electricity, was designed and built by the former Soviet Union and is
the Baltic nation's only nuclear plant.
The first reactor started to operate on Dec. 31, 1983, and the second
was launched in May 1987.
In June 2002, Lithuania and the European Union (EU) reached an
agreement in Luxembourg on the closure of the plant. Under the
agreement, Lithuania had to shut down the first reactor before 2005 and
the second before 2009.
The EU will provide some funding for the closure, while the
Lithuanian government has also raised about 814 million dollars.
On Dec. 31, 2004, the first reactor was closed completely after 21
years of operation.
The closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant will have a huge
impact on the power supply of Lithuania and its neighboring countries.
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