Ross Hendin, CFP Contributor and Principal of Hendin Consultants, brings us another addition to our case study of the Ignalina Power Plant, here discussing unique approaches from individual nations to capitalize on Ignalina and win the ongoing geo-political game of energy-chess:

I found this article from Penki, published on April 16th, to be very interesting. President Valdas Adamkus recently received a visit from key members of the US House of Representatives. The group touched on a number of key issues, one of which was “energy security“.

How will Canada and Korea top the efforts of the French and US to lobby for their own countries suppliers? The bar has now been raised. Again.

For Korea and Canada to have a hope of winning the Ignalina bid, a new approach is needed - the “official state visit political card” is already well played out at a level that is tough to compete with. As of now, each country will have to either join France and the US in playing over and above their guidbook, or watch as the frontrunners head for the finish line.

Coming back to the US visit, one can only assume the visit’s discussion of energy security probably was to do a few things:

Get it’s own understanding of the Ignalina situation, where are things exactly? How long will the bidding and building process take in reality? Has all financing been arranged, or just a portion?

Discussions over energy supply, and open talks about settling the dispute between Sweden and Lithuania over where the power line should come in from.

Lobby for the US nuclear power suppliers, make a case for an American company to produce the plant, and perhaps offer co-financing.

Figure out just how much further ahead Areva is than the other competitors in suppling Lithuania and Poland with plants.

Discuss alternatives to the Nuclear Power Plant, such as LNG.

Focusing on the political risk and the implications of the situation to the US, there is a very real chance that if Russia supplies the Baltics with power again, it is only a matter of time before the Russian government and Rosatom assert political or corporate foreign policy on the Baltic states, and they end up needing to take a different course than the rest of the EU. For potential military and for obvious political reasons, the US will want to keep as many countries as possible from becoming overly dependent on Russian resources.

The US has a slightly different focus and political dynamic in this situation than the rest of the countries involved, as they want to preserve the interests of the EU and keep strategic locations friendly, perhaps even more than France does.