Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, Decommissioned nuclear power plant in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania.
The Ignalina facility in Visaginas Municipality sits beside Lake Drūkšiai and includes two large reactor buildings and turbine halls now prepared for long-term dismantlement. The site covers several hectares with administrative and technical structures that currently serve the decommissioning teams.
The first reactor started generating electricity in 1983, followed by the second in 1987, both built to a Chernobyl-type design. The facility shut down all power generation at the end of 2009 as a condition for Lithuania joining the European Union.
The construction of the power plant led to the establishment of Visaginas town, which developed specifically to house the facility's workers and their families.
Access to the site is strictly controlled and requires special permission as the decommissioning work continues. Visitor centers or tours are not currently available, though occasional informational displays take place in the nearby town.
The facility once supplied nearly 70 percent of Lithuania's electricity needs and made the country an energy exporter in the region. The cooling system altered Lake Drūkšiai's water temperature noticeably, a change still studied in local ecosystem research today.
Location: Visaginas Municipality
Inception: May 31, 1995
Website: http://iae.lt
GPS coordinates: 55.60444,26.56000
Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:43
This collection brings together nuclear power plants that have shaped the history of civilian nuclear energy. Some experienced accidents that changed the world’s view of nuclear energy. Chernobyl in Ukraine remains a symbol of the 1986 disaster, while Fukushima in Japan showed the risks of natural events. Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania paused the building of new reactors in the US for many years. Other sites are among the largest in the world, like Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Japan or Bruce in Canada. Many places are facing challenges today, such as the Zaporijia plant in Ukraine. The collection also includes projects that tried to push the technical limits of this energy. Superphénix in France and Monju in Japan explored new types of reactors, with mixed results. Some facilities, like Bataan in the Philippines, were never operational despite being fully built. Others, like Oyster Creek or Tokai, helped start nuclear work in their countries. From Siberia to the United Arab Emirates, from Canada to India, these sites tell stories about energy choices, technical progress, failures, and questions that have surrounded this source of power for more than sixty years.
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