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Nuclear power a way to cut EU reliance on outside suppliers: Estonia
Tallinn (AFP) Nov 2, 2007 EU members should use nuclear power as a tool to reduce reliance on outside energy suppliers, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said Friday, amid concern over Russia's political use of its market clout. "EU countries should consider using more nuclear power to decrease their dependence on third countries," Paet told reporters during a visit to Estonia by Jean-Pierre Jouyet, European affairs minister of France, which is one of the most pro-nuclear members of the 27-nation European Union. "We also hope that the whole of Europe understands that energy policy is part of security policy," Paet said. "It's important that the EU countries have a common energy policy, that Europe has has many alternative energy options and will not be dependent only on one energy supplier," he said. Jouyet agreed with Paet's comments, saying energy independence was a priority for the entire EU and that member states needed to look at nuclear power from that standpoint. Estonia and its fellow Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991. While Estonia has since become a net energy exporter, most other east European countries in the EU -- and a swathe of the bloc's west European member states -- rely heavily on energy supplies from Russia. Ex-communist countries in particular are looking for ways to reduce Moscow's energy clout amid fears that Russia is increasingly exploiting its control of a large slice of Europe's oil and gas market to try to tame governments in its old stamping ground that fail to toe the Kremlin's line. The three Baltic states, plus ex-communist Poland, are together planning to build a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania to replace a Soviet-era facility. Lithuania pledged to close the 1980s plant at Ignalina by 2010 during its membership talks with the European Union, which the four countries joined in 2004. The new plant is meant to come on stream by 2015, although some experts have suggested that 2017-2020 is a more realistic target, and that Brussels should allow Ignalina's closure to be delayed to avoid power shortages and a temporary increase in reliance on Russia. Estonia has also been lobbying hard against plans by Russian energy giant Gazprom and two German firms to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea directly from Russia to Germany. Tallinn has said the duct should be constructed on land, arguing that it will give countries along the route more say in the market than the direct undersea option, and also pose fewer environmental risks. Russia has said the pipeline could be protected by the Russian navy, sparking extra jitters in Tallinn. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Japan nuclear operator sees red after quake
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 31, 2007TEPCO, the world's biggest private electricity supplier, said Wednesday it expected to go into the red this year for the first time in nearly three decades after an earthquake shut down a nuclear plant. |
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