New NPP in Lithuania will not cover demands for energy in all Baltic countries – Estonian expert

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

Andres Mäe, researcher of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, Estonia, answered questions about prospects of energy security and nuclear industry of the Baltic region. (more…)

Estonia cleaned up Soviet era radioactive waste dump at Sillamæ

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Estonia has completed the decade-long clean-up of one of Europe’s most hazardous radioactive waste dumps on the Baltic coast, an official in charge of the operation said Monday.

“EU experts considered the radioactive waste storage at Sillamae one of the four most dangerous sites of its kind in Europe,” Tonis Kaasik, director of the OkoSil firm responsible for the clean-up of the Soviet-era dump told AFP. (more…)

Ergma: Estonia should build nuclear plant

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

TALLINN – Estonian Parliamentary Speaker Ene Ergma has urged the legislature to consider the construction of a nuclear power plant in the country.

At the first meeting of the autumn session, the speaker said that the country needed a new power source in response to Russia’s use of energy supplies as a political tool. (more…)

Baltic, Polish cos agree atomic development venture

Friday, July 25th, 2008

VILNIUS, July 25 (Reuters) – Energy companies in the three Baltic states and Poland agreed on Friday to set up a joint venture to develop a nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the Lithuanian partner said.
The four countries have been negotiatng on the project for months and hammered out a deal on Friday in Copenhagen.

“The partners have agreed to Lithuania’s proposal to establish a joint project development company, in which LEO LT would hold a 51 percent stake,” Lithuania’s LEO LT said in a statement after a meeting.
Lithuania has said it wants to build a 3,200-3,400 megawatt nuclear power plant to replace its Soviet-era Ignalina nuclear facility, due to be shut down at the end of next year. (more…)

Efforts to be made to ensure support from Estonia and Latvia to extension of Ignalina nuclear power plant operation

Friday, April 4th, 2008

(ELTA) – Parliamentary committees of the Baltic states are going to search for common solutions in the electronic area and energy security fields. The defense committees meeting on Wednesday consider the projects related to the new nuclear power plant and the electricity links to be the most important topics of their forth meeting. (more…)

Survey: 69 pct of individuals do not want a nuclear power plant in Estonia

Friday, March 28th, 2008

TALLINN, March 26 (LETA) – According to a poll carried out by Sustainable Estonia Institute, 69 per cent of Estonian residents do not want a nuclear power plant built in Estonia, writes ETV24. (more…)

Nuclear energy information portal launched by University of Tartu

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

TALLINN, March 19 (LETA) – The University of Tartu launched an independent information portal www.tuumaenergia.ee, writes Postimees Online.

The objective of the internet portal is to increase awareness of Estonian population on the issue of nuclear energy. (more…)

Tiny Estonia could go nuclear, sees oil shale hope

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Estonia, one of the smallest European Union countries, is considering its own nuclear power plant and wants to use its experience of producing power from oil shale in other countries, the state energy company said.

Estonia is the world’s most dependent country on oil shale, producing 90% of its power from the sedimentary rock, though it is one of the most polluting of fossil fuels. Estonia accounts for 70% of the world’s processed oil shale, though large deposits are also found in the United States and other countries like Australia, Brazil and Jordan. (more…)

Nuclear plant partners face hurdles

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

By Stefan Wagstyl in Vilnius, Robert Anderson in Stockholm and Jan Cienski in Warsaw

The Baltic states and Poland are struggling to settle the political, commercial and environmental problems involved in their joint plan for a €7bn nuclear power station, aimed at easing expected regional electricity shortages and reducing dependence on Russian energy.
(more…)

A chill wind blows across the Baltics from Warsaw

Monday, December 10th, 2007

The thaw between Poland and Brussels has sent a chill down spines in Lithuania.

Donald Tusk, the new Polish premier, arrived at the European Commission and parliament on Tuesday to show that his country was back in the centre of Europe. The era of the Kaczynskis, “the terrible twins”, picking fights with Brussels, was over.

The fear in Vilnius is that he may stop picking fights with Russia, too, leaving the Baltic republics, which only recently threw off the Soviet yoke, alone in the ring with the bear. Talks on resolving the Russian blockade of Polish meat, which in turn have held up a new EU-Russia partnership agreement to Brussels’ ill-concealed annoyance, start next week.
(more…)