Russia is proposing to build a high-voltage electricity cable from Kaliningrad to Germany across the Baltic Sea to export power produced from a newly to be built nuclear power plant. The cable would be laid alongside the last part of the gas pipeline Nordstream that Gazprom is building together with western partners and that will be used to transport gas direct from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The electricity cable would similarly bypass third countries, in this case Poland. A representative from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs says he does not expect Germany to be willing to acquiesce to the plan. ‘I cannot imagine that the German public will want to import nuclear power (“Atomstrom”) from Russia’, he says.
Lithuania
Russia proposes “electricity pipeline” to Germany
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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South Korea pulls out of Lithuania nuclear project: gov't
Monday, December 6, 2010A four-nation nuclear power plant project in Lithuania was thrown into doubt Friday, as the government said a South Korean bidder had pulled out and another was rejected.
Lithuania's deputy energy minister, Romas Svedas, told reporters that South Korea's state energy firm Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) had withdrawn from the race to build and run the plant.
Lithuania pleased at German support for nuclear plant
Tuesday, November 2, 2010Vilnius - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis on Tuesday praised German support for a planned nuclear power station to be built in the Baltic country, describing it as a 'guarantee' to potential investors.
Germany backs Baltic nuclear power plant: Merkel
Tuesday, September 7, 2010Fresh from her controversial announcement that Germany aims to postpone abandoning nuclear energy, Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday threw Berlin's weight behind a planned four-nation plant in Lithuania.
"We'll do everything we can to ensure that this construction gets backing," Merkel told reporters during a visit to the Baltic state, saying German authorities could help bring potential investors on board.
Eastern Europe to host EU nuclear waste storage facility
Wednesday, February 17, 2010High-level nuclear waste from across the European Union could be shipped to eastern Europe for burial in a central underground storage facility under plans being considered by EU member states.
The Times has learnt that the project, which comes amid a resurgence of interest in nuclear power, could be given the green light later this year by the European Commission. Ewoud Verhoef, deputy director of Covra, the agency responsible for the storage of the Netherlands´ nuclear waste, said: "The nuclear programme in Holland is small and the cost of building a geological repository is very high. We only have one nuclear reactor in the Netherlands so there would be big advantages to a shared solution."
Soviet-era Lithuanian nuclear plant shuts down under EU deal
Friday, January 1, 2010VILNIUS — Lithuania Thursday shut down its Soviet-era nuclear plant under an EU deal in a move set to drive up electricity prices amid an economic crisis and leave it counting on ex-master Moscow for power.
"At 11:00 pm (2100 GMT) everything went offline. It all went according to plan," Viktor Sevaldin, director of the 26-year-old plant, told AFP by telephone.
European funding extension for Bulgarian decommissioning
Tuesday, October 27, 2009The European Commission decided to extend the period of financial support to Bulgaria for the decommissioning of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. On top of the EUR550 million already allocated, the Commission has pledged a sum of EUR300 million for the time period 2010-2013.
Bridging Lithuania’s energy gap
Monday, December 8, 2008VILNIUS - Lithuania is staring down the barrel of an energy crisis. The fact is the previous government did little to fix the problem, and the country now faces the prospect of being left in the long feared hands of Russian gas company Gazprom for electricity and heating.
Russia has been licking its chops thinking of the profits it will make while political infighting and bureaucracy saw Lithuania’s energy future go nowhere.
New NPP in Lithuania will not cover demands for energy in all Baltic countries – Estonian expert
Tuesday, November 25, 2008Andres Mäe, researcher of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, Estonia, answered questions about prospects of energy security and nuclear industry of the Baltic region.
In Eastern Europe, a Nuclear Answer to Energy Dependence
Wednesday, October 29, 2008From the Baltic to Bulgaria, governments in Eastern Europe are increasingly looking toward a revival of nuclear power generation to meet growing energy demand.
The renewed interest in nuclear energy in a region that has been under intense pressure from the European Union to close unsafe older- generation plants coincides with a lively debate in several West European countries, in which governments seek cleaner energy options to combat climate change.
