Lack of energy brings out nuclear projects in southeast Europe

TIRANA, July 28 – Albania, part of the Balkans, will need to cope with a lack of power supplies in upcoming years, as will the entire region.
The lack of energy has added to rumors, as well as concrete projects, about new nuclear power reactors or extending the life of existing ones, to meet growing domestic electricity demands.
Albania has been suffering chronic power shortages in recent years. Due to this, increasing support has grown for developing nuclear power generation and Albania may be ready to invite Italians to build a nuclear plant on its soil. The Italian power utility, Enel, has said it is reviewing nuclear opportunities in Albania.
Other countries have been more specific. Bulgaria plans to build a 2,000 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant by 2013-14. It has contracted with Russia’s Atomstroyexport, along with France’s Areva and Germany’s Siemens, to build the plant in a 4.0 billion-euro deal. Sofia has yet to choose a strategic investor for 49 percent of the plant, though they are considering Germany’s RWE and Belgium’s Electrabel, owned by French utility, Suez.
The Czech Republic’s power group, CEZ, has unveiled a preliminary plan to build two 3,400 MW units at its Temelin nuclear power plant. The country already relies on nuclear power for about 30 percent of its electricity.
Hungary has one nuclear generator with 1,860 MW of capacity, supplying about 37 percent of its electricity. These plants were built to be closed by 2012 and all major political parties have approved a 20-year lifetime extension.
Romania, whose two nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda plant accounted for 13 percent of all power in 2007, plans two more reactors of 706 MW each at the same site by 2015. Candidates to build the two new reactors include Electrabel, Enel, Spain’s Iberdrola, CEZ, a Romanian unit of Arcelor Mittal and RWE. The investment is estimated at nearly 2.2 billion Euros. Romania is also considering building another new nuclear plant with a capacity of between 2,000 and 2,400 MW, whose first unit could come online after 2020.
Turkey passed a law last year to allow the construction of its first nuclear power reactor. Turkey, which is facing an energy shortfall, has set a September 24 deadline for bids to build the nuclear power plant. The country plans three nuclear plants with a total production capacity of 5,000 MW.