Prienai, 8 March 2012 – Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius confirmed their support for the construction of Visaginas nuclear plant at their meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Prienai, Lithuania, and declared their intention to redouble their joint efforts to complete the project within the planned time.
At the unofficial prime ministers’ meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Kubilius gave a thorough overview of the current state of the Visaginas nuclear power plant. Kubilius affirmed that it is planned with the prime ministers’ support to move ahead with the project so that the Visaginas is completed by 2020 or 2021 as planned. The next key stage of the nuclear project is for the Lithuanian parliament to approve the nuclear plant concession agreement this June.
Prime Minister Ansip said the Visaginas nuclear power plant project is very important for Estonia. “Thanks to the new oil shale units and adoption of renewable energy, it is possible for us to cover our energy needs ourselves, but Estonia needs to diversify its energy portfolio in order to ensure energy security. We have been interested in the project since 2006 and it is to be welcomed that a step forward towards realization of the project has been made.”
Ansip added that the projects profitability and hedging of risks will have determining importance in making the final investment decision. “The strategic investor Hitachi along with three participating energy firms must determine the expected rate of return and amount of the investment as accurately as possible. The primary precondition for the project is that the risks to be assumed by the participants would be proportional to the benefits obtained from the project. After resolving these topics, the decisions for taking monetary obligations can be made,” said Ansip.
In addition to the Visaginas nuclear project, the prime ministers also discussed steps for restricting the importing of electricity from third countries. The prime ministers decided to take decisions at their next meeting regarding the timing and extent of implementation of the measures.