Feb 20 (Reuters) - A number of countries in central, eastern
and southeastern Europe plan to build new nuclear power reactors
or extend the life of existing ones to meet growing domestic
demand and replace ageing power capacity.
The plans mirror a worldwide nuclear boom as part of the
solution to climate change.
Following are key facts on major projects:
BULGARIA
- The Balkan country, where nuclear energy supplies about 43
percent of all power, plans a new 2,000 megawatt (MW) nuclear
power plant at the Danube river town of Belene. It has
contracted Russia's Atomstroyexport, along with France's Areva
<CEPFi.PA> and Germany's Siemens <SIEGn.DE>, to build the plant
in a 4.0 billion-euro deal.
- The first reactor is planned to come online in late-2013.
- Sofia is yet to pick a strategic investor for 49 percent
of the plant among Italy's Enel <ENEI.MI>, Germany's E.ON
<EONG.DE> and RWE <RWEG.DE>, Czech CEZ <> and Belgium's
Electrabel, owned by French utility Suez <LYOE.PA>.
CZECH REPUBLIC
- The Green party has managed to make the Czech government
pledge it would not launch any nuclear power plant projects
while in office. The country already relies on nuclear for about
30 percent of its electricity.
- The two biggest Czech political parties and power firm CEZ
are all in favour of building new nuclear power units. The most
likely scenario are two sizeable units at the existing Temelin
station.
HUNGARY
- The country has one nuclear generator with 1,860 MW of
capacity, supplying about 37 percent of electricity.
- Their lifetime will begin to run out in 2012. All major
political parties have approved a 20-year lifetime extension.
The relatively rare political consensus was not dented even by a
2003 accident which left one of the blocs out of service for
over a year.
- In 2006 and 2007, press reports surfaced that big Western
European power firms were considering building a new nuclear
generator in Hungary but no specific plans had emerged.
LITHUANIA
- The Baltic country, which relies on nuclear for 70 percent
of its electricity, is still in the planning stages of a new
3,200-3,400 MW plant estimated to cost $9 billion.
- Poland and the other two Baltic states, Latvia and
Estonia, are negotiating plans to build the new plant, which
will replace one that Lithuania is obliged to shut down by the
end of next year. The talks, however, have stalled due to Polish
demands for a third of the power.
- The government has had talks with several reactor
providers, including Areva and General Electric <GE.N>.
POLAND
- Poland, seeking to lessen its dependence on Russian
energy, plans to back Lithuania's nuclear plant project.
- Some officials, including Economy Minister Waldemar
Pawlak, have said Poland should consider building a nuclear
power plant in the future to help reduce its near complete
reliance on coal for energy.
But no concrete plans have emerged yet and the suggestion
was met with scepticism by the environment ministry.
ROMANIA
The Balkan country, whose two nuclear reactors at the
Cernavoda plant accounted for 13 percent of all power in 2007,
plan two more reactors, each 706 MW, at the same site by 2015
and a second plant later.
Candidates to build the two new reactors include Electrabel,
Enel <ENEI.MI>, Spain's Iberdrola <IBE.MC>, CEZ, a Romanian unit
of Arcelor Mittal <ISPA.AS> and RWE. The investment is estimated
at around 2.2 billion euros.
SLOVAKIA
- Nuclear energy contributed for 57 percent Slovakia's
electricity in 2007. The country closed one 440 megawatt block
out of four in the older Jaslovske Bohunice plant in 2006, and
another one will be phased out by the end of 2008 under an
accession deal with the EU.
- Czech dominant power company Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) SE,
controlled by Enel, aims to complete the third and fourth block
at the Mochovce plant by 2013.
- The state plans construction of a single 1,100-1,200 MW
block or two new 600 MW blocks at the Bohunice site by 2025,
worth an estimated 3 billion euros. A tender is expected to
start this year.
- A new 1,200 MW nuclear plant, expected to cost 3.5 billion
euros, is being considered in eastern Slovakia after shutdown of
younger Bohunice blocks, expected in 2025.
TURKEY
-Ankara passed a law in November to allow for the
construction of Turkey's first nuclear power reactors. The terms
of a tender for the three separate plants with a total capacity
of 5,000 MW is expected to be released on Feb. 21.
- The energy ministry estimates costs for the project at $10
billion but environmental group Greenpeace said costs would be
much higher, at $4 billion per reactor.
Sources: The International Atomic Energy Agency (www.iaea.org);
Slovenske Elektrarne (www.seas.sk), World Nuclear Association
(www.world-nuclear.org)
(Additional reporting by Vilnius, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest,
Prague and Istanbul bureaux)
(Compiled by Martin Dokoupil in Bratislava and Anna Mudeva in
Sofia)
