Lithuania nuclear energy

Three countries, namely the USA (104 plants), France (59 plants) and Japan, account for approximately 58% of the worldwide generation capacity, followed by Germany and the Russian Federation. These three countries also dominated the historical development of nuclear power expansion (see Fig. 4.1). The three countries with the highest nuclear energy share in their electricity mix today are France, with around 75%, followed by Lithuania, with 70%, and Slovakia, with 55%. While nuclear power contributes some 20% to power generation in the United States, the share in the EU25 is around 36%. 

Thirty countries around the world now obtain some of their electricity from nuclear energy (Figure 22.10). Lithuania leads with 78%, followed by a number of other European countries that have also made a substantial commitment to the technology. The United States has been more cautious, with only 20% of its power coming from nuclear plants. Worldwide, 439 nuclear plants were in operation in early 2002, with an additional 32 under construction, most of them in Asia. Approximately 21% of the world s electrical power is generated by nuclear reactors. 

Of the total world production of electricity about 16% is produced in nuclear power plants. In some countries nuclear energy counts for the majority of the electricity produced, France 75% and Lithuania 77%, and in the USA with the largest production of nuclear energy of more than 96 000 MWh this accounts for about 18% of the total energy production. 

Rather than seek to consider nuclear energy policy in each of the 12 most recent members of the EU we shall devote the rest of this chapter to considering two specific examples, Romania and Lithuania, which between them illustrate some of the most resonant and provocative policy insights. 

We accept that there is no chance of a single European voice on new nuclear build. Rather there is a consensus that the generation mix for electricity is a matter for each member state individually. That will represent the framework for nuclear energy developments for some time to come. Nevertheless the Lithuanian new NPP project presents a very powerful example to those smaller Western European countries contemplating the construction of a Generation III nuclear power plant of sizeable output (for example, 1,100-1,700 MWe). Might, for instance, the experience of Lithuania and the Baltics have lessons to offer the Netherlands and the... 

The IRIS development was initiated with U S. DOE support through the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI). Currently, the institutions involved in IRIS R D are members of the IRIS consortium and include Westinghouse Electric Co. (USA), BNFL (UK), Ansaldo Energia (Italy), Ansaldo Camozzi (Italy), ENSA (Spain), NUCLEP (Brazil), Bechtel (USA), OKBM (Russia), ORNL (USA), CNEN (Brazil), ININ (Mexico), LEI (Lithuania), Polytechnic of Milan (Italy), MIT (USA), Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), University of Zagreb (Croatia), University of Pisa (Italy), Polytechnic of Turin (Italy), University of Rome (Italy), TVA (USA), Eletronuclear (Brazil). All team members are stakeholders. 

Lithuania is more dependent on nuclear power than any other country in the world. Its two 1500-megawatt reactors produce more than 80 percent of the country s electricity. The reactors, however, are the same design as the unit that caused the Chernobyl disaster. With both reactors working, Lithuania can produce almost twice as much energy as its domestic demand, allowing the country to sell the excess to other nations. If one unit were shut down, however, the country... 

There exist serious problems in the field of energy security, which it would be highly complicated or nearly impossible for Lithuania to deal with on its own. Key problems include the long-term reliability of natural gas supply, construction of the prospective new nuclear power plant and integration of the electricity system into EU systems. Implementation of these strategic tasks could be facilitated only by close cooperation with other Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Poland. (Miskinis et al., 2008, p. 9)... 

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