As an example, the publication cites Estonia, which in 2024 has already allocated 600,000 euros for the preparation of resources, including personnel.
“Of the Baltic states, Estonia has gone the furthest with the development of nuclear energy, while on the southern side it is Poland. The head of regulatory affairs at Latvenergo and member of the board of Sadales tīkls, Kristaps Ločmelis, pointed out that in our region there are two states that are very seriously considering the possibility develop nuclear energy… This is logical, because historically in both of these countries the energy sector is built on the “dirtiest” resources: in Estonia it is oil shale, in Poland it is coal. These resources must be replaced with something if natural gas is not considered as an option. Nuclear remains. energy”.
“Thus,” continues Diena, “there is an opportunity for Latvia to develop its own nuclear energy capacity or to cooperate with Estonia. At the state level, Lithuania does not currently want to develop nuclear energy, and its energy policy is aimed only at developing the capacity of renewable energy resources – the sun , wind, hydrogen and storage technologies – or on so-called unstable energy resources.”
If Latvia wants to build a nuclear power plant on its own, then it should be taken into account that only one modular reactor with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts (comparable to the Kegums hydroelectric power station, built in 1940 and reconstructed in 1979), costs approximately 1.35 billion euros, and overall investments can reach up to 2 billion.
“At the same time, it is also necessary to provide for annual funding in the state budget of approximately 1.44 million euros, which will be necessary to attract at least 40 specialists and to carry out supervisory and regulatory functions, as evidenced by the report on the possibilities of developing nuclear energy in Latvia.”
“Just as important as the costs is the support of society,” the newspaper writes. According to the Ministry of Climate and Energy of Latvia, this is growing: if in 2020 only 27% of the population would to one degree or another approve of the appearance of nuclear power plants in the country, then in 2022 this figure was already 49%.
“Statistics show that in the world as a whole there are almost 450 nuclear reactors operating in 32 countries, and more than 50 more are being built this year. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2050 the capacity of nuclear reactors in the world will double – from 414 gigawatts in 2020 to more than 810 gigawatts in 2050.”
“This is a stable source of base generation capacity,” the Ministry of Climate and Energy of Latvia emphasizes.
Also on the topic – Estonia is looking at a small nuclear reactor: how will this affect Latvia
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2024-05-13 18:35:40
