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June 10, 2004

* Challenge of atoms
Marjan Gjorcev (VMRO-DPMNE Assembly deputy - Macedonia), "Challenge of atoms", Utrinski vesnik (Macedonian newspaper)

... I am pondering the idea of whether Macedonia needs atomic energy. Now that we are competing with Albania over which will be the poorest country in Europe, how can we enable our development? Energy is a precondition for development. Without sufficient energy, you cannot modernize industrial facilities. You cannot establish modern transport and communication links, either. You cannot live comfortably without the use of energy.

Macedonia has no oil fields. It has sunny days, but solar technology is still being researched, and this will continue for the next 20 years. The use of water resources for energy requires a huge investment that should last for about 10 years. Our mountains have good potential, but they have another, ecological, dimension. Our coal supplies will barely suffice for the next 10 years.

Samuel Beckett must have based his Waiting for Godot on our philosophy of waiting. However, this time we must be decisive. We must choose our future energy source as soon as possible. All analyses indicate that the use of atomic energy is the only solution.

First of all, there are real investors for the construction of a modern nuclear plant with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts per hour. French and German companies provide construction loans, transfer of technology, and know how. In most cases, they also market the energy produced and offer a solution for radioactive waste material.

Macedonia has numerous "empty zones" of hundreds of square meters that may be an ideal place for a nuclear plant. The Balkan states have a constant need for energy. With the envisioned capacity, the nuclear plant will annually produce about 5 million megawatts electricity per hour. If we export the produced energy (at current prices), the Republic of Macedonia will make a profit of over 1 billion euros. This is more than our total annual exports. Just imagine that we could obtain 1 billion euros for adopting modern technologies. This will also mean new factories and new jobs, agricultural subventions, help for the poor, healthcare, better education, and so on. Macedonia will finally become a Switzerland in the Balkans. We will achieve the entire progress on our own and with our own means, without loans and without encumbering future generations with debt.

Almost all of the highly developed EU member states use nuclear energy. The construction of our, Macedonian, nuclear plant will not only mean huge potential for Macedonia's development, but it will also oblige Europe to take care of the security in the country and the region. In this way, Europe will be concerned with all the Europeans.

The first nuclear period has passed us by, because we were asleep. The south is a peaceful area. We now need a courageous and calculated move, a move that the more-developed countries have already made. ... This will be our deposit for a better tomorrow.