2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
The famous Ignalina nuclear power plant was built in Lithuania during the Soviet era. It was originally supposed to use 6 power units here, each of which would have an energy capacity of 1185-1380 MW. However, the project was never implemented due to various reasons. Let's see why this power plant was never built and what the Ignalina NPP looks like today.
Building and plans
The construction of the station began in 1974. In parallel with it, a town was being built where employees serving this huge enterprise would have to live. So, the very first power unit was launched on December 31, 1983. In 1987, the second block was put into operation. In total, they expected to build 4 reactors, and in the future - 2 more. The third of them was laid down in 1985. However, it was never built. As for the fourth power unit, it generally remained only in the plans.
It is likely that if it were not for the so-called restructuring, then all the reactors would have been put into operation, and Lithuania would have "bathed" in cheap electricity, but the final project wasclosed upon Lithuania's accession to the EU. It is a pity, since this nuclear power plant was equipped with the most powerful water-graphite reactors at that time, which provided high power output.
Prospects for the operation of the Ignalina NPP
They were truly rosy. You can endlessly talk about the prospects for the operation of this power plant. Thanks to it, Lithuania received a huge amount of very cheap electricity. The country needs only 10 billion kWh per year. However, the two working units produced a total of 12.26 billion kWh of electricity over the same period of time. In general, taking into account other hydroelectric power plants and windmills, the country had 13.9 kWh per year. Consequently, 3.9 kWh of electricity could be sold to nearby states. Imagine how many times the country's energy capacity would increase if the third and fourth energy blocks were built!
In addition to cheap electricity for the population and production, as well as the ability to fill its budget with foreign currency from the sale of extra kW / h, the country could receive huge investments in the field of industry. After all, big financiers are always looking for convenient countries with cheap electricity. Lithuania in this case is an ideal platform. What can we say about the political dividends that the country would receive from countries that are energy dependent on it. Unfortunately, all this was lost, and today the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania practically does not work.
Reported reasons for closing
After the collapse of the USSR, the Government of Lithuania andthe population raved about the idea of joining the EU. One of the conditions was the closure of the Ignalina NPP in order to ensure safety. The fact is that this power plant used reactors that were structurally similar to the reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. And although the Ignalina NPP was one of the safest plants according to the IAEA, the EU demanded to close it. Otherwise, membership in this organization would be impossible.
The Lithuanian government agreed to these conditions and decided to stop the station. In 2004, the operation of the first block was stopped, and in 2009 - the second. Lithuania has fully met the conditions for obtaining EU membership, but the process of shutting down and deactivating power units is still ongoing, and its completion is scheduled for 2034.
Real reasons for closing
Many experts believe that the real reason for the closure of the INPP was the unwillingness of the EU leaders to have a strong member in the EU, which would become a full member along with the leaders. After the shutdown of the power plant, Lithuania was forced to buy expensive energy resources abroad, and its budget began to fill with new money.
As a result, it has become a country dependent on the EU, which, if necessary, can accept conditions that are obviously unfavorable to it to please other EU states. But if Lithuania had such a solid tool for attracting investments and capital to the budget, the country's government would have behaved differently.
INPP today
What the object looks like today can be seen in the photo of IgnalinskayaNPPs featured in this article. Unfortunately, today it does not produce electricity and is at the stage of shutdown. The fact is that shutting down a power plant is a complex and lengthy process. You can't just put a padlock on the gate, because nuclear fuel needs to be looked after.
As of January 20, 2017, 1991 people worked at the station. All of them carry out work related to the storage of spent nuclear fuel, decontaminate and dismantle equipment left at nuclear power plants, and create repositories for short-lived low-level waste.
The estimated completion date for all work is August 2034. Until that time, the reactor units of the first and second units should be dismantled.
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