NNRF Inc (NNRI)

[JellyDonut]

Yevgeny Burlakov, director of channel-type reactors department of Kurchatov Institute

– There is nothing strange in the wish of the Baltic states to build NPPs

For example, Belarus had such plans in the Soviet times and had even prepared necessary sites.

In Lithuania the situation was quite different. Having Ignalina NPP that country had long been the first in the world in nuclear energy production. It still produces most of its electricity at Ignalina. In 2009 Lithuania is planning to decommission the plant. That’s why it is thinking about the future and is planning to build new plants, together with Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

We all know that organic fuel is constantly growing in price. The Baltic states have no organic resources of their own, except for coal slate, which has very low power generating capacity and produces lots of smoke and carbon dioxide. Lithuania has one such plant but it is ecologically unclean. This is one more reason why the Lithuanians want to build a nuclear power plant.

Estonia also has such plans. A 500MW plant will be enough for that country. Finland also links its future with nuclear power plants. It has NPPs and is going to build more.

A nuclear power plant means energy independence and guarantee of economic and strategic independent of a country, its sovereignty. In other words, a country having its own NPPs and its own uranium no longer depends on anybody. Today, many small countries having no big organic resources are beginning to understand this. I think that this is a natural process. It is gaining momentum and nobody can stop it.