Will there be a renaissance for nuclear energy? Exactly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster, the European Union (EU) seems to be betting on nuclear energy again. At the summit near Paris, the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen called the rejection of nuclear energy a "strategic mistake." "I think it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable and affordable source of electricity with low emissions," she said.
The EU will apparently focus primarily on the development of the so-called small modular reactors (SMRs), the German public broadcaster ZDF adds to the picture and adds that this new technology should be ready for use in Europe by the early 2030s. According to von der Leyen, together with conventional nuclear power plants, these new reactors should play a “key role“ in the future. The EU will provide guarantees worth 200 million euros for those private investors who want to invest in nuclear technologies, Ursula von der Leyen announced, quoted by ZDF.
Is the U-turn justified?
A commentary by ARD - the other major public broadcaster in Germany - states that the head of the Commission has de facto made a U-turn, which will be promoted with European funds. Why is this even necessary and should nuclear energy once again be a model for development, asks the author of the commentary Helga Schmidt. According to her, the reality is very different: in addition to safety concerns and the still unresolved issue of the final storage of nuclear waste, there are huge costs that are scaring off private investors. “Nuclear energy is not profitable, which is why investors avoid building new power plants. Where they do operate, nuclear energy depends on state subsidies“, writes Schmidt.
The most eloquent example of this is France, recalls ARD and gives the example of the country's newest nuclear power plant - the recently opened plant in Normandy, which has absorbed six times more funds than planned. “No country can afford something like this, least of all heavily indebted France“, notes ARD.
Why France wants to rely on mini reactors
According to the ideas of French President Emmanuel Macron, the old reactors should operate longer. But their service life has already reached a point that was unthinkable just a few years ago. And because the 60 years planned for this will eventually end, the French government is now focusing on building so-called mini nuclear reactors. They should bring salvation, but they are also more expensive. That is why France, together with several other EU countries, has been putting enormous pressure on Brussels for support for months, the German publication points out.
“The fact that Commission President Von der Leyen is now giving in to this pressure is a mistake,“ writes Helga Schmidt. “Mini nuclear reactors are not only small and expensive, but they currently only exist on the drawing board. At least in the Western world, there is not a single mini nuclear reactor in operation, and in the US, private investors are withdrawing en masse.“
Mini nuclear reactors - an investment bottomless pit?
No supplier in the world can currently commit to a deadline for the construction of such capacity and offer a specific price. According to Markus Kroeber, head of Germany's largest electricity producer - RWE, there is currently zero willingness to take on such an investment risk.
“If the main players in the energy industry see in small nuclear reactors the danger of them becoming a bottomless pit for investments, the EU should not be throwing public money at them“, the commentary also says. Author Helga Schmidt believes that the European funds now promised by Von der Leyen for this purpose would be better spent on renewable energy sources. And especially on developing technologies for storing the energy produced.
"This is less risky and will provide cheaper electricity for consumers and industry. And what is no less important: we will not bequeath nuclear waste dumps to our children and grandchildren," Schmidt also writes.
Emilian Lilov editor