Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

176
b. Renewable Energy
As a start to a long-term strategy dedicated to renewable energy, governments
should invest in small-scale hydro, biomass, and wind energy. This would provide an
estimated 1500 MW of capacity, which would produce 5.25 TWh/year at 40 percent
capacity. As the indigenous industry starts to develop, further capacity increases
would be possible. This program would cost between $1.14 ^^'' and $1.68 billion.*^®
c. Gas
Gas production has increased over the p£ist years but this growth has begun to
slow down due to problems within the infrastructure of the industry. ^^^ Since the
problem lies within the infrastructure and clean gas is abundant in the former
USSR (although pipes need to be upgraded), the gas industry can be further developed
as a last resort,^*" in the unlikely event that conservation and renewable technology
fail to compensate for the loss of nuclear energy. ^^^
d. Oil
In 1989 oil production fell 2.6 percent from the output of the preceding year and
has continued to decline into the 1990's. "The inadequate rate of new discoveries;
the smaller size of these new discoveries and the premature decline in production
from existing large oilfields" ^^^ partially explain this decrease. In — addition, the
lack of foreign exchange has cut off the supply of imported equipment "for the last
three years there was no new oil field developed and presently 22,500 oil wells are
out of operation partly due to lack of equipment to repair them.^*^ This trend
should be allowed to continue as part of a sound energy strategy, in order to decrease
the pressure on this nonrenewable resource; to facilitate this decrease, oil
must be used more efficiently. Efficiency could be encouraged through conservation,
and through the use of oil in electricity, where suitable and efficient.
D. Alternative Backfltting
If conservation and related cogeneration technologies fail to provide adequate
power, newer nuclear plants could be backfitted to produce natural gas. As noted
earlier,!** Russia has already begun to backfit partially constructed nuclear plants
for the use of natural gas, and another, at Voronezh, is also being retooled, at
modest conversion costs. Gas is plentiful in the Soviet Union, ^^^ and niakes up approximately
one-fifth of energy production in Hungary and 15 percent in CSFR.^"*^
Bulgaria imports most of its gas from reserves in Western Siberia. ^^^
V. CONCLUSION
The nations of the former Eastern Bloc have already suffered enormous amounts
of ecological devastation. The goal of a rational energy policy for these countries
must be to minimize environmental impact while still providing for the needs of
people. Nuclear power, with or without massive and long-term Western aid, remains
too risky to human health and the environment to serve as the basis for a sound
energy strategy.
Only conservation and alternatives to nuclear power can satisfy the basic needs of
the people while respecting the environment. The nations of Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union hold much untapped potential for conservation; that potential
can be obtained at low ecological and monetary cost. Conservation should be
complemented by the pursuit of safe and sustainable supplies of energy, with the
most emphasis on renewable energy technologies, and some emphasis on clean-burning
fossil fuels like natural gas. Abandoning the pursuit of nuclear energy in these
countries will save money, nonrenewable resources, and life.
Friends of the Earth calls on the G-7 Governments and funding agencies to
accept this challenge, and to bring their collective resources to bear as a matter of
urgency. A collaborative international partnership is required to address the threats
posed by these nuclear facilities and to pay for their closure. Likewise, concerted
action by the G-7 and their principal funding agents such as the World Bank is essential
to success in making the right investments for a sustainable future. This is
not the time for timid, tepid responses.
FOOTNOTES
* The map at the end of this Report shows the location of each reactor in the region by type
and number.
^ Within a period of 3 months, or as soon as sufficient cogeneration and conservation capacity
comes on-line to substitute. As shall be argued, cogeneration and many conservation measures
can be developed in the very short-term.