Slovaks show 'readiness' with nuke power relaunch: Czech PM

CIVIL NUCLEAR

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek

Austria slams Slovak plan to reopen nuclear plant
Austria on Sunday slammed neighbouring Slovakia's decision to reopen a power generator at its Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear plant, following the gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine. "We cannot accept the re-opening of this unsafe reactor at Bohunice," Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich said in a statement. "In a community, agreements must be respected. The (plant's) shutdown was a key condition (to Slovakia's entry into the EU) for us and can't just be erased," he added. "Now it's up to the European Commission to strongly urge compliance with the accession agreement." In a rare moment of unity, opposition leaders from the two far-right parties and the environmental Greens party also blasted the decision, arguing that Bohunice was "one of the three most dangerous nuclear plants in Europe" and urging the Austrian government to take legal and diplomatic measures against Slovakia. Austria, a strong opponent of nuclear power, has often complained of nuclear plants in neighbouring countries and the potential repercussions for the small alpine state. Slovakia announced Saturday it would begin reopening a power generator at Jaslovske Bohunice, which was only entirely shut down on December 31 as part of a commitment to the European Union before its 2004 entry into the bloc. "We know that this is a violation of our conditions of membership" but there is "a risk of a blackout" due to the gas stoppage that must be addressed, Prime Minister Robert Fico said. Austrian Greens party leader Eva Glawischnig hit back: "The gas crisis should not allow countries to re-open dilapidated reactors or continue risky nuclear technology under the excuse that there's a power shortage: that's playing with fire."

by Staff Writers
Prague (AFP) Jan 11, 2009
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said Sunday Slovakia's decision to relaunch an ageing Soviet-era nuclear reactor showed a quick response to the gas crisis.

"At the moment, I take it rather as a demonstration of their readiness to tackle an issue that the European Union cannot resolve for Slovakia -- a looming blackout," said Topolanek, whose country currently holds the EU presidency.

On Saturday, Slovakia said it would begin reopening a VVER 440/230 reactor, -- the oldest type of the Soviet nuclear power generators -- at the Jaslovske Bohunice plant near Bratislava because of the cut-off in gas supplies due to the payment dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

Slovakia shut the unit down on December 31, meeting a commitment it had made to the European Union ahead of its 2004 entry into the bloc.

"We know that this is a violation of our conditions of membership" in the EU, but there is "a risk of a blackout" that must be addressed, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Saturday.

Topolanek said Slovakia produced "power from gas and they are facing serious problems" and added the issue showed Europe needed mechanisms to ensure energy security, one of the Czech EU presidency's top priorities.

"We are tackling the problem five minutes past twelve, not at five to twelve," he said only a few hours after returning from a mission to Russia and Ukraine that paved the way for renewed gas deliveries.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us Digg Reddit

YahooMyWeb Google Facebook

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

CIVIL NUCLEAR

Philippines revisits nuclear energy option at 'white elephant' plant

Morong, The Philippines (AFP) Jan 8, 2009
The Bataan nuclear power plant stands as a monument to the greed and corruption of the years the Philippines spent under strongman president Ferdinand Marcos.

ENERGY TECH Analysis: Central Asian energy in 2009 Analysis: African oil faces challenges New technique 'banks' wind farm energy No breakthrough as Japan, China discuss gas field	CIVIL NUCLEAR Bratislava restarts nuclear reactor to avoid blackout Slovaks show 'readiness' with nuke power relaunch: Czech PM Philippines revisits nuclear energy option at 'white elephant' plant Slovakia says it might reopen nuclear plant if gas freeze lasts
BLUE SKY Does Global Warming Lead To A Change In Upper Atmospheric Transport Greenhouse gas emissions study released Research Into Fair-Weather Clouds Important In Climate Predictions ESA Tests Laser To Measure Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide	WOOD PILE Canada's forests not helping environment Scam artists sell 'forest' lands in barren northern China Real Christmas trees 'greener' than fakes Ghana's 'miracle': logging underwater forests for exotic timber
FARM NEWS World's first 'drought-tolerant' corn ready by 2010: Monsanto China has arrested 60 over tainted milk scandal: police Half the planet could be hit by food crisis by 2100: study Ladybugs a sign of healthy olive trees	CAR TECH Toyota to introduce electric car to US by 2012 China's Foton to form 930-mln-dlr truck partnership with Daimler Japan races to build a zero-emission car Traffic fatalities in China fall to 73,500 in 2008: report
AEROSPACE Boeing Ends 2008 With 662 Commercial Airplane Orders China moves to bail out aviation industry amid global crisis Cathay Pacific books 7.6 billion HK dollar loss over oil hedging India signs 2.1 bln dollar plane deal with Boeing	NUCLEAR SPACE Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2 Nuclear Power In Space Outside View: Nuclear future in space

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement