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Spent fuel storage for Lithuania’s Ignalina power plant
EBRD-managed fund provides €93 million
A consortium of the German companies RWE Nukem and GNS–Gesellschaft für
Nuklear-Service has been awarded the contract for the construction of a spent
fuel storage facility at the Lithuanian nuclear power plant Ignalina. The €93
million contract includes design, manufacturing, constructing, testing and
commissioning of the storage facility. The facility is scheduled to be
operational in 2008.
The contract includes the provision initially of 39 CONSTOR storage casks for
fuel assemblies from Ignalina’s RBMK-1500 reactors. It also contains an option
for a further 163 casks.
The construction is financed with funds from the Ignalina International
Decommissioning Support Fund, which is managed and administered by the EBRD.
The Fund helps Lithuania finance facilities needed in the decommissioning of
units at the site as well as energy sector improvements such as the
environmental upgrade of conventional power plants.
EBRD Vice President Fabrizio Saccomanni called the contract an important
milestone in the implementation of the overall decommissioning programme, in
particular as the signing follows the permanent closure of Ignalina I at the
end of 2004 in line with Lithuania’s commitments under its EU membership
treaty. This underlines the successful partnership among Lithuania, the donor
community and the EBRD, Mr Saccomanni added. Ignalina II is scheduled to close
by 2009.
To date more than €340 million has been contributed to the fund by Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, EU, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The
EU’s contribution is part of a programme by the European Community under which
until 2006 almost €500 million will be provided to assist with Ignalina’s
closure.
The EBRD is currently managing six Nuclear Safety Funds on behalf of various
governments. Besides improvements in nuclear safety, decommissioning of
nuclear units and environmental rehabilitation of nuclear sites, the funds pay
for energy efficiency and environment protection measures. Governments and the
European Community have pledged close to €2 billion to the six funds.
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