Irina Tsurina, head of Analytical Department of «PRopaganda» Center of Communiacation Technologies

– The cost of nuclear energy is still one of the lowest in the world

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.

More and more European countries are announcing plans to build new nuclear reactors. Lots of such projects are underway in Asia and Latin America. All this proves that nuclear energy is experiencing global renaissance. Many countries in Europe are beginning to revise their attitude towards nuclear energy: Poland and Estonia are eager to have their own reactors; Lithuania is actively pushing the Ignalina2 project; in Germany Angela Merkel has announced a nuclear U-turn despite the Greens’ phase-out plan; the last gas crisis has urged some Eastern European countries to claim restart of their shut-down plants.

It seemed that the resumed gas supplies and the looming financial crisis would halt this tendency but this week new countries have appeared with similar projects. Feb 5 Fortum energy concern asked the Finnish Government to permit it to build a new reactor at Loviisa, a nuclear power plant with two WWER-440 reactors built by Soviet specialists. Here Rosatom has quite good chances as Loviisa was the first plant to successfully integrate Russian and Western equipment. In this light, the agreement for strategic partnership with Siemens was quite timely: it will significantly enhance our chances on the Western European market.

Finland’s plans have one more implication: the new EU member-states have been told to shut down their Soviet-type reactors. The key argument of the EU is that they are not sufficiently safe. But Finland’s decision has disproved this argument and has opened up new prospects for Russian reactors.

The ecological standards are also changing. The key priority today is reduction of CO2 emissions – and nuclear power plants are the most effective solution to this problem. 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.

And finally we are witnessing a historic turnabout towards nuclear energy in the traditional citadel of the Greens – Sweden. Once a model example for European ecologists, that country is also beginning to turn its face towards nuclear energy: the Swedish coalition government has presented an energy program envisaging the construction of new nuclear power plants. The local mass media have termed this as “a historical decision.”

This proves that there are more important reasons for developing nuclear energy than political situation: growing fuel shortage, ecology, diversification, aspiration for energy independence and security. And finally the cost of nuclear energy is still one of the lowest in the world.   
 
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.