Poland considers participating in new Ignalina plant

11 January 2007

[NuclearMarket Review, 8 December; Platts Nuclear News Flashes, 11 December] Poland has proposed totake a 25% in a new nuclear power plant at Ignalina, in parallel with anagreement to construct a 400 kV connection between the Polish and Lithuanianpower grids. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his Lithuaniancounterpart, Gediminas Kirkilas, signed the “energy bridge” agreement on 8 Decemberin Vilnius. Thedirect-current connection is expected to cost some Eur304 million ($400million) and to be completed by 2011, with partial financing by the EuropeanUnion (EU). Poland isproposing to co-finance the nuclear plant, which would be between 800 MWe and1600 MWe, with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

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