Boris Shmelev, First Deputy Principal of International High School (International University)

– Rosatom-Siemens cooperation is a movement in the right direction

Feb 5 Fortum energy concern (Finland) asked the Finnish Government for permission to build a new unit of Loviisa NPP with a capacity of 1,000–1,800MW and approximate cost of 4bln-6bln EUR. The same day the Swedish coalition government presented an energy program envisaging the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Feb 5 Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Nabuo Tanaka urged the Dutch authorities to increase the share of nuclear energy in their total energy production. He said that the Netherlands would not be able to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 30% in the following decade unless it built new nuclear reactors.

It seems that the post-Chernobyl period of negative attitude towards nuclear energy in Europe is coming to an end. The latest technological achievements have proved that nuclear reactors can be safe, ecologically friendly and efficient. The last gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine has brought nuclear energy into the spotlight. Bulgaria is building new reactors; Slovakia and Austria are considering the possibility of restarting their shut down reactors.

In this light, Finland’s intention to build new reactors and the plans of Sweden and the Netherlands to adopt relevant programs seem quite logical. It is quite noteworthy that until now Sweden has been the key example cited by the opponents of nuclear energy.

This means that Russia may obtain new contracts for construction and maintenance of nuclear reactors. The recent agreement with Siemens has considerably strengthened our positions. Rosatom-Siemens cooperation is a movement in the right direction. By using our common capacities we can create very competitive, safe and ecologically friendly projects.

One can’t be 100% sure but I think that we will shortly witness a boom on the European NPP construction market. And this is a good prerequisite for our active presence on the world nuclear market. This will give us both commercial and technological benefits and will improve our political image in Europe.

Note:

• Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant (Finland) is situated at Hastholmen island in Loviisa municipality. It has two WWER reactors built by Soviet specialists in 1977 and 1981. According to Fortum’s plans, the new reactor will be launched in 2020 and will serve for 60 years.
• In Sweden nuclear energy has been an object of political controversy for many years. In this light the decision of the coalition can be regarded as a really historic step. The Centrist Party is the key opponent of nuclear energy: they were the key initiator of the referendum which decided that all Swedish reactors had to be shut down by 2010. That’s why the government’s program has received a controversial response from the society. The key argument of the program is that by 2020 the share of renewable energy will be increased by 50% while the emission of greenhouse gases will be reduced by 40%.
• The Netherlands has one nuclear power plant, Borssele, with a 485MW reactor. Its shutdown was scheduled for 2004 but in 2002 the Dutch authorities decided to operate it till the end of its 40-year life, i.e. till 2013.