No New Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania?

Will no new nuclear power plant be built in Lithuania after all? Since no company has yet been found to build the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the Lithuanian government will presumably have to put its plans for a new plant on hold.

South Korea’s KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) had originally intended to undertake construction of the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania. However, the South Korean corporation has withdrawn its bid to build the plant, which it submitted just a few weeks ago. This was announced to the public at the government headquarters in Vilnius at the end of this week by Lithuania’s deputy energy minister. Although another company has submitted a bid, the Lithuanian government described it as “inadequate.”

Lithuania now faces problems: The old nuclear power plant had to be shut down at the beginning of the year under pressure from the European Union (EU), because EU safety authorities had classified the Soviet-designed plant in Ignalina as dangerous. By building a new nuclear power plant (also in Ignalina, in northern Lithuania), Lithuania wanted to become less dependent on energy imports from Russia.

KEPCO’s unexpected withdrawal has raised sensitive political questions that all the parties involved will now have to resolve: Did the South Korean corporation perhaps withdraw its bid because of pressure from Russia? As an important energy supplier to Lithuania, Russia would continue to enjoy many advantages if the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania were not built. Lithuania has no intention of abandoning the project and remains determined even after KEPCO’s rejection. Together with its partners Poland, Latvia, and Estonia, it now plans to build a nuclear power plant at a cost of around 5 billion euros.