Nuclear Power in Lithuania

(updated 19 February 2010)

• Lithuania closed its last nuclear reactor, which had been generating almost 70% of its electricity, at the end of 2009.
• Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1983.
• Electricity has been a major export. Plans for a new reactor involve neighbouring countries.

Lithuania has a population of about 3.5 million. In 2004, the last year of having two reactors on line, the country produced 13.9 billion kWh out of a total 19.3 billion kWh. In 2006 electricity production was 12.5 billion kWh gross, 69% from nuclear and 20% from gas. Per capita electricity consumption is about 4500 kWh/yr. Almost 90% of the country's gas comes from Russia. Following closure of its second nuclear power reactor, much of its electricity will also be imported from Russia.

Nuclear industry development

In the northeast of the country Lithuania hosted the two largest Russian reactors of their type, known as RBMK. These Ignalina reactors were originally 1500 MWe units (1380 MWe net), but were later de-rated to 1360 MWe (1185 MWe net). Construction stared in 1978 and they came on line in 1983 and 1987, with a 30-year design life. Lithuania assumed ownership of them in 1991. They are light-water, graphite-moderated types, similar to those at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. A third unit was planned but not completed, and then demolished.

Their location is beside a large lake, Lake Drukshyai, which is used for cooling.

Originally the Iganlina plants were designed to provide power not only for Lithuania but also for neighbouring Latvia, Belarus and the Kaliningrad area of Russia. In 1989 42% of the power was exported, but this fell through the 1990s.

In 1994, Lithuania agreed to accept funds - eventually 34.8 million ECU ($36.8 million) - from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's Nuclear Safety Account to support a safety improvement program at Ignalina. The EBRD placed conditions on the grant, which evolved to include closing both units, at least by the time their pressure tubes needed replacing after some 15-20 years. Substantial upgrades were effected, with considerable help from other countries, notably Sweden.

Due to strong EU concerns about this type of reactor, by the time Lithuania applied to join the EU it was required to close them both down. Hence unit 1 was closed in December 2004 and unit 2 was closed at the end of 2009. That leaves the only operating RBMK reactors in Russia. The EU has agreed to pay decommissioning costs and some compensation through to 2013. There was strong public opposition to the enforced closure of the second unit, and in July 2008 Lithuania's parliament voted to hold a referendum on whether to extend its operating life.

The Ignalina plant is operated by Ignalinos Atomine Elektrine (IAE) and supplied power to national utility Lietuvos Energija. The state Prices & Energy commission utility in September 2007 gave permission for the utility to increase electricity prices by 70% - mostly in 2010 to cover the increased costs of power after Ignalina-2 was closed.

Closed down power reactors

Reactor	Type	Net MWe	First power	Closed
Ignalina=1	RBMK	1185	1983	end of 2004
Ignalina-2	RBMK	1185	1987	end of 2009

Plans for new capacity

In July 2006 Lithuania invited Poland to join with Estonia and Latvia in building a new large reactor in Lithuania, to replace the Ignalina units being shut down at EU insistence. Polish participation would justify a larger and more economical unit such as an EPR. A 2006 feasibility study, undertaken on behalf of the three Baltic states, showed that a new plant costing EUR 2.5 to 4.0 billion would be economically attractive and could be on line in 2015.

In February 2007 the three Baltic states and Poland agreed to build a new nuclear plant at Ignalina, initially with 3200 MWe capacity (2 x 1600 MWe). Total cost would be some EUR 6.7 billion. E.On and Vattenfall expressed interest in investing in such a unit.

In May 2008 the government formed the Lithuanian Energy Organisation (LEO LT) to build the new nuclear power plant and also transmission to Sweden and Poland. The state holds a 61.7% share in the company, while privately-owned NDX Energija holds 38.3% related to its holding in energy grid firm VST. Subsequently the state contributed its shares in Lietuvos Energija AB (LE) to LEO, making LE effectively a 96.5% owned subsidiary of LEO.

LE received a favourable environmental impact assessment report for the new nuclear power plant of up to 3400 MWe next to Ignalina, taking into consideration all commercially available and technically feasible reactor types. The formal environmental assessment was submitted to the Ministry of Environment in January 2009 and approval is expected in March.

In July 2008 LEO with energy companies from Latvia, Estonia and Poland (Latvenergo, Eesti Energia and Polska Grupa Energetyczna) established the Visaginas project development company Visagino Atomine Elektrine (VAE) for the new 3200-3400 MWe nuclear power plant. The host country will hold 51% of this and the others 16% each, but the JV will be reconstituted later as a project implementation company with different share split related to long-term equity. Though located close to the Soviet-era Ignalina plant, the new one will be called Visaginas after the nearby town of that name, close to the Latvian border. Lithuania wants at least 34% of the new plant (1090-1160 MWe), Poland wants 1000 MWe, while Latvia and Estonia want 400-600 MWe each. Two units would come on line in 2016 and 2021.

In January 2009 LEO published a revised construction plan for only one reactor, with construction to start 2012 and operation from 2018. Estonia then brought forward plans to build a nuclear plant of up to 1000 MWe itself.

VAE however is still planning for some 3400 MWe capacity, some of it on line in 2018, and is considering 12 possible reactor designs:

Atomstroyexport	V-392	1000 MWe	Main Russian export model
	V-448	1500 MWe	Design still incomplete
AECL	Enhanced Candu 6	600 MWe	Base model operating in Canada, China, Romania
	ACR-1000	1085 MWe	Now being offered, not yet sold
Westinghouse	AP600	600 MWe	Sidelined?
	AP1000	1100 MWe	Principal new design in China
Areva NP	SWR-1000	1250 MWe	Now being offered, not yet sold
	EPR	1600 MWe	Being built in Finland, France, China
GE Hitachi	ABWR	1350 MWe	Operating in Japan, being built in Taiwan, sold in USA
	ESBWR	1535 MWe	Planned for USA but not yet sold
Mitsubishi	APWR	1700 MWe	Planned for Texas
Kepco	APR-1400	1400 MWe	Under construction in Korea, sold to UAE

Due to LEO’s lack of construction experience, the government is reported to be considering E.On, RWE, Vattenfall and EdF as possible partners in the new venture. In April 2010 formal proposals from five elected strategic investors in the plant are expected by the government.

In February 2010 a senior Lithuanian delegation visited South Korea to discuss building a pair of APR-1400 reactors. These would probably be built and operated by Kepco as an independent power producer. The cost of each unit is about $5 billion, but some minor redesign to meet European Utility Requirements would be needed.

In July 2009 a law to close down LEO LT was signed into effect, and at an extraordinary general meeting in September the government voted for that, with NDX Energija dissenting. This would make the new plant the direct responsibility of the state, with VAE continuing its role in project development. It is proposed that NDX Enegija take over VST (western grid) again and the state take LE and RST (eastern grid).

The Environment Ministry largely accepted the Visaginas proposal but imposed a 3200 MW limit on heat to be discharged into Lake Drukshyai, effectively capping the capacity able to use that at about 1700 MWe. With 3400 MWe planned, cooling towers will be necessary.

Meanwhile, and apart from Polish participation in the Baltic states nuclear plant, a high-voltage (400 kV) 1000 MW DC PowerBridge costing EUR 250-300 million to improve transmission capacity between Lithuania and Poland is to be built by 2015. It will be half funded by the EC. This follows inauguration of an interconnector between Estonia and Finland - Estlink, a 150 kV, 350 MW DC cable costing EUR 110 million and also supported by EC funding. (The Baltic states and Belarus have good interconnection of grids from the Soviet era, but this did not extend to Poland.)

A further major transmission link, of 700 to 1000 MWe (probably 750 MWe) is proposed undersea between Sweden and Lithuania, to allow power from the new joint reactor to be exported to Scandinavia, and power to be imported meanwhile.

Fuel cycle

Nuclear fuel is imported from Russia. Partly-used fuel from unit 1 is being used in unit 2, saving some EUR 40 million.

Radioactive waste management

The Radioactive Waste Management Agency (RATA) was established in 2001 by the Ministry of Economy for management and final disposal of all radioactive waste from the Ignalina plant during both operation and decommissioning. In 2007 it identified a site close to Ignalina for a final repository for low- and intermediate-level wastes and the government approved this. The repository is expected to be operational in 2015.

Due to the pools at both reactors being essentially full, some used fuel is stored in dry casks on site. A new interim spent fuel storage facility is being built about one kilometre from the power plant, for operation from 2011.

Both Ignalina RBMK reactors are now being decommissioned. Unloading the used nuclear fuel from unit 2 is expected to continue until April 2012. By April 2016 it is expected that all fuel from unit 1 and unit 2 will have been unloaded from the used fuel storage pools into casks and transported to the new interim spent fuel storage facility, where it will remain for 50 years. For short-lived, low-level waste, a separate storage facility will be operating by the end of 2010. The total estimated cost of the Ignalina decommissioning project is over €1 billion ($1.4 billion), with the European Union having pledged €1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) towards decommissioning costs.

After an open tender, a group of companies led by France's Areva TA is developing the structure of a near-surface repository for low- and intermediate-level short-lived wastes, to be completed in 2017, costing €10 million. The repository contains a variety of facilities - the first should start operating in 2015. The waste storage area will be filled until approximately 2030 when the power plant is expected to be completely dismantled and all wastes secured.

Funding for this work is largely through an Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund (IIDSF), which is managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD). About 95% of the required decommissioning funds have been provided by the international community, and the spending is being administered by a Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) and the EBRD. The other 5% comes from Lithuanian state funds through the state's own energy agency.

Regulation

In 1991 the Lithuanian Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) was set up to oversee Ignalina. This now operated under the Ministry for the Economy and reports direct to government under a new statute dating from mid 2002.

A technical support organisation, the Independent Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) was also set up by the government at the Lithuanian Energy Institute in Kaunas to give technical assistance to both VATESI and the plant.

The Radiation Protection Centre oversees radiation protection, including monitoring of public exposure. It drafts laws and regulations on radiation protection.

Lithuania has been party to the Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage since 1994. It became a member of IAEA in 1993.

Public opinion

A late 2009 survey (N=1000) carried out for VATESI found that 73% of the population felt that it was possible to operate nuclear power plants in a safe manner. This is slightly up on the 69% recorded in the European Union's 2006 Eurobarometer special survey. More than half of those polled agreed that storage and transportation of radioactive waste could be done safely, with 56% agreeing on storage and 59% on transportation.

Non-proliferation

Lithuania came under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992 and the Additional Protocol in came into force in 2000.

Main References:

IAEA 2003 Country profiles.

參考來源:World Nuclear Association