Ivan Andriyevsky, managing partner of 2K Audit-Business Consultations

– Baltic NPP is a modern well-thought-out project

Inter RAO UES is considering the possibility of laying a cable from Baltic Nuclear Power Plant to Germany along the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Presently, Inter RAO is negotiating with different partners, particularly, German companies, and is drafting a relevant project. The final decision will depend on the cost of the project and the approach of the partners. The first negotiations on this project were held in late Aug-early Sept 2009. Mikagayunas said that the possibility to lay the cable along the Nord Stream pipeline will make the project much cheaper. One of the priorities of Inter RAO in the field of power supply to nuclear power plants is to strengthen its connections with Lithuania and transmit electricity to Poland. In the near future the company will hold a number of talks concerning transmission of electricity from Baltic NPP: negotiations with German partners in Lithuania in Oct, a conference in Tallinn Oct 8–9, a meeting with a Swedish partner.

Baltic NPP is a modern well-thought-out project. As regards the energy transportation routes, there is no final decision on this matter yet. However, initially Baltic NPP was meant as an exporter of energy and the underwater cable to Germany is one of the possible scenarios.

I think that the laying of the cable along the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be an optimal solution. The infrastructure of the gas pipeline will help to save money. However, the cable may face the same obstacles the pipe is facing for the moment. The project will have to undergo additional ecological examinations and will need approval by the states whose waters it will cross.

But, today, Europe needs energy and I think that this project will find foreign partners. Some big European power companies have already expressed interest in it.

The use of underwater route will help us to avoid transit problems. This makes the project attractive especially for German companies.

Baltic NPP will have two 1,170MW reactors. The estimated cost of the project is 194bln RUR in the prices of the first quarter of 2009. The plant is supposed to employ 1,100 people. At the peak of construction the project will involve 8,000 people. Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation is planning to recruit as many local specialists as possible. The railway in Neman district will be restored to ensure access to the construction site. Construction materials will be produced in the territorial of the region. The plant is expected to become the biggest tax-payer in the region.