Eesti Energia CEO says concentrating on nuclear energy pointless

Hando Sutter, CEO of national energy company Eesti Energia, says that the company sees no point concentrating on nuclear energy today as development of small modular reactors is still in early stages and it could take decades before Estonia can decide on the kind it needs, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
Eesti Energia owes its nuclear energy know-how to the decision to participate as a partner in Lithuania's nuclear power plant project from around a decade ago. The CEO of the state company that is increasingly contributing to renewable energy next to oil shale does not rule out Estonia getting a small nuclear reactor one day.
"Estonia is relatively small and the smallest existing nuclear reactor still has an output of over 1,000 megawatts, which is roughly twice peak summertime consumption in Estonia. In other words, we simply have no use for such quantities of power," Sutter explained.
The CEO notes that Estonia has an experienced nuclear neighbor in Finland that is developing several reactors.
"We are concentrating on renewable energy today, while it cannot be ruled out that Estonia will have a small modular reaction at one point. Whether it will be built by Eesti Energia or another company remains to be seen."
Sutter believes that whether technology that would fit Estonia's needs exists should become clear around 2030 after which it would take another decade or more build. "That is quite a long time," the CEO said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski