More and more countries are exploring the use of small nuclear reactors (SMRs), and Lithuania is also reassessing its nuclear policy; nuclear advocates say that operating just a few reactors could ensure true energy independence.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are less convinced, stressing that it is unclear whether SMRs can actually provide the much-vaunted safe and cheap electricity.
The second reactor at the Ignalina nuclear power plant was shut down just hours before the 2010. This came after 25 years of operation and was one of the conditions for Lithuania’s accession to the European Union. That night, Lithuania went from being an exporter to an importer, and electricity prices immediately rose.
The Ignalina NPP produced about 80% of the country’s electricity. Currently, an equal amount or even more is obtained from solar and wind farms. Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas pointed out that the energy sector can be made greener and produce enough energy by using the sun and wind, and by creating storage systems. He added, however, that it will not be possible everywhere to reach zero emissions by 2050.
A government working group has currently been tasked with assessing the feasibility of using nuclear energy. Vaičiūnas explained that
it is necessary to weigh the benefits, costs and everything else related to reactors.
Osvaldas Čiukšys, head of the Atomic Energy Association, believes that nuclear energy should be part of the energy sector of the future, and many countries already consider nuclear energy a good addition to renewable energy resources.
Small reactors typically produce about 300 megawatts of energy, about a quarter of what a single reactor at the Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus, near the Lithuanian border, produces. Like factory-built buildings, modular reactors are built elsewhere and then transported to their intended location. It is also possible to assemble several reactors together to increase capacity.
Critics, however, say the excitement is premature and there are a number of unknowns. Domantas Tracevičius, head of the Lithuanian Center for Circular Economy, said that there is no such reactor in operation in Europe and
there are only plans and pilot projects that could become a reality in five or ten years.
Prototypes are being built in China, and Canada plans to use such reactors. Poland has selected suitable sites for small nuclear power plants, and Estonia is also considering it. According to Čiukšys, each reactor could cost about one billion euros, and Lithuania would need several. He also added that several locations should be considered – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and also Visaginas, a city built for the workers of the Ignalina nuclear power plant.
NGOs have stressed that in the 2012 referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power plant, 62% of residents were against it, and the plan would still be opposed today.
The conclusion of the Minister of Energy is that nuclear reactors in Lithuania are still a very distant future.
Read full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2604401/could-lithuania-return-to-nuclear-energy
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