Just before the christian new year, Canada chairing the G-7 countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ukranians for the aid to the energy sector in exchange for a targeted shut down of Chernobyl. This deal is a catastrophy. US$ 890 million will go to the completion of two soviet designed reactors by western companies and US$ 360 million safety upgrades for Chernobyl. Other aspects of the aid package make it total US$ 3.4 billion.
In exchange for this the Ukranians originally promised about US$ 900 million of their own funds and to target the closure of Chernobyl for the year 2000. The Ukranians have subsequently withdrawn the offer
of their own funds and are even considering withdrawling the target date (which is silly because they can not be held to a target). The deal will likely fall apart.
None the less, this is the form of deals which are being negotiated now. [An earlier gas deal which the ABB lead consortium collapsed when the Ukranians demanded the west cover the cost of gas.] The
funding for US$ 490 million of the new nuclear construction will come from the EBRD (the other US$ 400 million will come from EurAtom).
It is clear the Ukranians hope to do what the Lithuanian and Bulgarian governments have done - use EBRD money to complete safety upgrades and then claim the reactors are now safe and thus need not be closed. If this comes to pass, as many policy experts expect, the west will have made possible the completion of two dangerous hybrid east/west reactors the Ukranians could have not otherwise afforded and provided funds and an excuse for the life extension of the two operating Chernobyl reactors.
See the enclosed Greenpeace Intl press release on the details of the deal and the clear availablity of environmental friendly alternative solutions (especially wind and efficiency) for Chernobyl replacement power.
We have intelligence which demonstrates the EBRD has conducted a study demonstrating that nuclear is the least cost energy option or Chernobyl replacement. This study is so bad (and so demonstratably incorrect) that the EBRD is trying to hide it from the public. We have seen a summary of the confidential US DOE analysis of this EBRD study which states more clearly than any government report i have ever read that the EBRD is simply wrong.