beyondbrics

It was not only Lithuania left disappointed by the collapse of talks with Kepco of South Korea over the proposed construction of a new nuclear reactor in the country.

Fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia are also counting on the project to provide energy security to a former Soviet region still uncomfortably dependent on Russian fuel supplies.

Beyondbrics happened to be in the company of Estonian prime minister Andrus Ansip in Tallinn on Friday shortly after news of the setback reached him via mobile text message.

“We are not satisfied with these developments,” he said, adding that Estonia was in “a hurry” to resolve its energy conundrum.

He could not shed any light on why Kepco, the Korean utility, had withdrawn its proposal to build the reactor, which would replace the Soviet-era Ignalina plant (pictured) that was closed last January. Kepco was one of two bidders involved in the recent tender process – but it was the only one deemed to have met Lithuania’s requirements.

Mr Ansip said he hoped to find out more when Baltic and Polish leaders meet for long-planned regional talks in Warsaw on Sunday.

The project is already way behind schedule, in part because of financing problems since the Baltic region was struck by the financial crisis two years ago.

Estonia is the most energy-independent of the Baltic trio because it has its own deposits of shale oil, which provide most of its electricity. But the shale deposits will run out in a few decades and burning them produces heavy carbon emissions – explaining why Estonia is as keen as its neighbours for access to nuclear power.

Tallinn has made clear it is drawing up alternative plans in case the Lithuanian reactor fails to materialise, including the possibility of building its own nuclear plant.

Mr Ansip was anxious not to write off the Lithuanian project and stressed that Estonia’s own plans were still highly tentative. Yet, he said the state power company had gone as far as to buy a potential site on an island near Tallinn and start geological surveys.

Estonia’s message to Lithuania seems clear: get the reactor project back on track or we will go it alone.