Atomic Threats In The Baltic Sea Region/Working meetings/Fourth meeting/Kaliningrad

<= 4th project working meeting

text sent from Kaliningrad anti-nuclear people:

Situation with Baltic Nuclear Power Plant construction in the Kaliningrad region (beginning of construction - 2008)
Information about suspension of Baltic NPP construction came up in the mass media in 2013. In particular, journalists referred to the resolution "Baltic NPP action plan for 2013” signed by the General Director of the contractor for construction of Baltic NPP, OJSC “NIAEP” Valeriy Limarenko.

Rosatom’s Press-service refuted this information and informed that the case is not suspension of the construction, but modification of the power of reactors.

In June 2013 Valeriy Limanenko has confirmed suspension of the construction after all. At the same time the Baltic NPP press service has once again refuted the statement of Valeriy Limanenko and clarified that the issue is reduction of the reactors’ power.

In October of 2013 Rosenergoatom acknowledged reduction of Baltic NPP construction rate.

In December acting director of Baltic NPP Vitaliy Trutnev notified that the decision on installation of lower power reactors at the Baltic NPP site will be made in the first half of 2014. Interfax stated that according to its sources in Rosatom the idea is no build 640 and 40 MW reactors instead of two reactors 1150 MW each.

And only in the second half of June of 2013 Jomart Aliev, General Director of CJSC Rusatom Overseas - the company promoting Russian nuclear reactors, said that a NPP with low and medium power reactors is a realistic perspective for the future, although remote future, and firstNPPs with low and medium power reactors will be put into operation only around 2020.

During the press conference the Governor of the Kaliningrad region Nikolay Tsukanov said that construction of Baltic NPP was not and is not related to the energy security of the Kaliningrad region. According to the Governor, the optimal solution for the energy security of the region is construction of a branch from Nord Stream.

Nikolay Tsukanov: “These are two different issues – energy security and construction of the nuclear power plant; they are not directly related since Baltic NPP was originally designed so that the electricity will be exported and not sent to the region”.

Decision on the further faith of Baltic NPP was related to the special meeting with the Prime Minister of RF Dmitry Medvedev, which was originally scheduled for 1st of April and then moved by two days to the 3rd of April 2014.

In April 2014 the management of Baltic NPP called a tender for informing of the population about the plans for construction of Baltic NPP and improvement of Rosatom’s image in the region. The contract value is almost USD 100 000.

At the end of March it became known that the construction manager of Baltic NPP Evgeniy Vlasenko was transferred to work in Turkey where he became the director of Rosenergoatom branch. Vitlaiy Trurnev, former chief engineer of the plant, was appointed as construction manager of Baltic NPP.

At the end of March Commersant newspaper informed that a decision was made during the meeting at Vice-premier of RF Arkadiy Dvorkovich to refuse installation of low and medium power reactors at Baltic NPP. Baltic NPP construction is temporarily suspended until a solution will be found for guaranteed sale of the electricity: planned 2 GW capacity is to high for the region.

On 3rd of April during the meeting under chairmanship of the Prime Minister of RF Dmitriy Medvedev it was decided to implement mixed gas and coal power generation scenario in the Kaliningrad region.

More than EUR 1 billion was spent on construction of Baltic NPP up to date, more than the annual budget of the Kaliningrad region. Therefore the Baltic NPP construction project is temporarily suspended, but can be resumed at any time.

Rosatom continues looking for a market for electricity from Baltic NPP. In 2013 Rosatom attempted to get the Kaliningrad region included in ENTSO — European network of power transmission operators that currently unites more than 40 operators from 34 countries.

I propose to concentrate our efforts in preventing shifts in the position of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on the use of electricity produced on Baltic NPP. Make it so that Baltic states, including Poland and Germany, have in no way participated in the Baltic NPP project implementation.

This requires informing the European community that the Russian authorities have refused conduction of a referendum on construction of Baltic NPP in the Kaliningrad region. According to numerous polls, over 80% of residents of the Kaliningrad region are against the construction of NPP.

I would really like to hold a joint meeting with our colleagues from Lithuania, Poland and Germany in Lithuania or Poland with invitation of representatives of the community and ecologists from the Kaliningrad region.

In order to inform the population about our position and consolidate the efforts in achievement of the nuclear-free status for the Baltic region, I propose to conduct joint actions on anniversaries of catastrophes in Fukusima and Chernobyl.

Block and inform the society about the plans of our governments on construction of NPPs through friendly deputies.

We, the people of Kaliningrad, are very worried by the issue of construction of NPP in Poland. Although Poland has adopted the Aarhus Convention, the region's residents don't have any information about the plans with construction of NPP in Poland near the Kaliningrad region.

We would really appreciate our colleagues for information about antinuclear events in Europe and for establishment of contacts with other public and environmental organizations.

We are glad to invite everybody interested to Kaliningrad, in the course of your visit we will organize as many public events as possible.