Is Serbia ready for nuclear power?

08/03/2010

Expected electricity shortages and neighbouring nuclear power plants have sparked a debate in Serbia on lifting a 21-year ban.

By Georgi Mitev-Shantek for Southeast European Times in Belgrade - 08/03/10

Nuclear power many be the solution to Serbia's dwindling energy resources. [Getty Images]

Surrounded by nuclear power, Serbia is one of the last holdouts in the region. With power shortages on the horizion and advances in safety measures, some experts say that now is the time to discuss the country's nuclear options.

"We don't have billions of dollars for construction, but we [also] don't have time to lose; we need to think a decade in advance," Vinca Nuclear Institute Professor Ilija Plecas said in an interview with SETimes. "If we build a plant with somebody else's money and pay off the debt with electricity in next 15 years, we still may get 15% of 'free' electricity."

Energy Minister Petar Skundric recently noted that within a 100km radius of the country, there are ten nuclear plants. And there are more than 20 plants within 400km.

Thus the question: is it time for Serbia to put the horror of Chernobyl behind and embrace nuclear energy -- however reluctantly -- as the answer?

After Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the Yugoslav Parliament adopted a moratorium on nuclear plants. Although many nations lifted the ban after the 1991 breakup of the republic, Serbia remained steadfast.

In December, Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Aleksandar Konuzin said, "Serbia [is] seriously considering constructing a nuclear plant -- and Russia is willing to help in that intention in a partner way and with joint investments."

Observers note that although Serbia does not have the money to finance a nuclear plant now, it typically takes 14 to 16 years to build one and preparation should start soon.

Renowned Serbian nuclear physicist Vladimir Ajdacic says that whether nuclear power is in the country's future or not, changes are needed. Serbia needs to cut its high electricity consumption, said Ajdacic, and use an alternative source of energy before a nuclear plant is considered.

The country's annual electricity consumption was 32,186GWh in 2009. Serbs use 150-180kWh per square meter annually, while EU countries use under 100kWh per year.

"In Serbia, we don't have a law on energy saving standards. Serbia has alternative energy resources, but nobody has done a cost-benefit analysis because the state doesn't bother to collect data from agencies," Ajdacic said.

Compared to existing technology for burning fossil fuels in the region, nuclear power is viewed as relatively clean, safe and free from global political pressures.

"Energy from renewable sources in Serbia has very limited potential, and in a situation of constantly higher demand, [the resources] can't be an anchor," said Dragomir Markovic, chief of the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS).

"Serbia is surrounded by countries that already have nuclear plants or plan to build them," said Markovic."That will significantly affect competitiveness of the EPS on the future open market, where nuclear power will be dominant because energy from coal is burdened with high ecological taxes."

At the end of 2006, the EU pledged to cut by 20% its annual consumption of primary energy by 2020. To achieve this goal, the Union plans to set minimum energy efficiency standards and rules across the board. Opponents of Serbia's nuclear energy development are adamant that the technology is not clean and the issue should be put to a referendum.

Zvezdan Kalmar, of the Centre for Ecology and Sustainable Development, told SETimes that "the nuclear waste issue isn't solved anywhere in the world, even in high tech countries like Germany or France, where there are small or not so small accidents in temporary warehouses."

Kalmar explained that "neither Serbia nor other Balkan countries can afford the price of a nuclear plant. The example of Finland shows that three to five years of construction delays increased [energy] prices from 2 billion to 10 billion euros."