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Poland wants lion's share of planned Lithuanian nuclear plant's output
Vilnius (AFP) Oct 5, 2007 Poland said Friday that it wants the lion's share of the output of a new nuclear power plant that it plans to build in a joint project with the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Polish Economy minister Piotr Wozniak, who was visiting Vilnius, hinted that Warsaw could go slow on other power projects if it did not get its way on the planned Lithuanian-based facility. "All projects will end up behind schedule unless we get a capacity of 1,200 megawatts," warned Wozniak. "The minimum capacity that would, painfully, satisfy Poland would be 1,000 megawatts and the normal capacity would be 1,200 megawatts," he told reporters. Wozniak's comments come just days before Poland and its partners are expected to ink a deal on building a plant to replace the ageing Soviet-era nuclear power station at Ignalina in southeastern Lithuania. On Tuesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas had said there were "no particular issues of dispute" remaining. Lithuania pledged to shut down the Ignalina plant by 2010 during its talks on joining the European Union. The Baltic states and Poland joined the EU in 2004. The four governments plan to build the new 800-1,600 megawatt-capacity plant by 2015 at a cost of 2.4-4.0 billion euros (3.4-5.7 billion dollars). While they have not yet set down their respective shares of the output, experts have been assuming that each country would get an equal share, even though Poland's population of 38.2 million makes it a giant compared to the three Baltic states, which have a combined seven million people. The Baltic states, which were part of the Soviet Union until 1991, are still linked to the Russian power grid and, like ex-communist Poland, see the new nuclear plant as one way to lessen Moscow's clout in their energy markets. Other energy projects in the region include a link between the power grids of Poland and Lithuania, which officials have previously said could be in service by 2010, and which would enable the Baltic country to connect to the electricity systems of western Europe. Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Little progress in talks over US nuclear deal
New Delhi (AFP) Oct 5, 2007India's ruling Congress party made little progress in fresh talks Friday with its communist allies with whom it is locked in a bitter row over a nuclear deal with the United States, its leaders said. |
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