Konstantin Zaytsev, vice chairman of State Duma Energy Committee

– World leaders and other countries are opting for nuclear energy

On May 21 Governor of Tomsk region Viktor Kress has given his consent to the allocation of two units of Seversk Nuclear Power Plant in the territory of the region.

In the next 12 years Russia is planning to increase the share of nuclear power plants in its total energy production from 16% to 25%. In order to solve this ambitious task, we will have to build not only new reactors at the existing NPPs but also new plants. Seversk NPP will be the first plant under this program. Kaliningrad NPP will be the second. Both plants are supposed to help the host regions to avoid energy crisis. Tomsk region is already experiencing energy shortages and imports 1/3 of its energy. In 2009 it will have to import half of its energy. This is a serious obstacle for the development of the region. As regards Kaliningrad region, in 2009 it may get into an energy blockade as Lithuania is planning to shut down its Ignalina NPP, which gives the region almost 40% of its energy.

The Government of Italy is planning to start the construction of nuclear power plants, reports AFP with reference to Economic Development Minister of Italy Claudio Scajola. This marks the end of 22 years of boycott of nuclear energy in Italy. Bloomberg reports that the first project will be started within the next five years. Scajola says that NPPs will allow Italy to produce cheap electricity without polluting the environment.

In order to solve the problem of impending energy crisis, Russia is developing its nuclear power industry. Here, Europe and we are moving in the same direction. Particularly, the Italian authorities said yesterday that they are planning to build new nuclear power plants in their country. The Economic Development Minister of that country said that NPP would allow Italy to produce cheap electricity and to reduce CO2 emissions. Germany, who officially said in 2002 that it was going to stop all of its NPPs, is now considering ways to preserve them. True, for the time being, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is restrained by agreements with coalition partners. But I think that in the next two years Germany will review its plans. Otherwise, in 2012 Germany will face a serious energy crisis. Germany may choose from two scenarios: either not to shut down its existing NPPs and to extend their lives to 60 years or to build new plants.

Any power engineer will tell you that wind power plants or other alternative energy sources cannot help highly developed economies to avoid energy crisis. So, it seems that the world leaders and many other countries are opting for nuclear energy. This is a global trend.