Atomic agenda
Ignalina II, a new nuclear plant being built in Lithuania, will begin operating in 2015. The Lithuanians are conducting the project in conjunction with Poland, as well as Latvia and Estonia. The total cost of the project amounts to E4 (zł.15.5) billion while Poland itself will invest E1 (zł.3.87) billion.
"In the wider perspective, the project defends itself in terms of the costs," said Piotr Naimski, Deputy Economy Minister at a nuclear energy conference organized by the Sobieski Institute under the patronage of Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński.
The Ignalina project is critical for Poland, because along with the plant, the countries want to construct a so-called "energy bridge" which will allow the transfer of energy between Poland and Lithuania.
"This will improve the stability and predictability of energy wholesale prices, compared to the unstable prices on fuels markets," said Hanna Trojanowska from the Polish Power Grid.
The experience Poland gains in the Ignalina investment is to be the basis for Poland's own nuclear plant, which is included in the government's energy strategy. The construction of a Polish nuclear power plant could start in 2013 and last eight years.
David Clarke, from PricewaterhouseCoopers, said he thought the government would be unable to keep this schedule, as it takes eight years to design a nuclear plant and submit documentation, which means Poland should have already begun the procedures. Polish law would also need changing because current legislation has no regulations for atomic energy.
