Brussels, 05/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 4 April, the Greens/EFA group at the European Parliament criticised the 2016 Nuclear Indicative Programme (known by its French acronym, PINC) unveiled by the Commission, describing it as a “dangerous strategy” aiming to extend the working lives of reactors active in the EU to up to 60 years.
PINC 2016 is “unrealistic”: its forecasts for the nuclear sector are “over-optimistic”, even totally unrealistic, particularly as regards the costs, which have been completely played down, the Greens stress in a press release.
“It is alarming that the Commission sees the greatest potential for the future of the nuclear sector by the extension of reactor lifetimes by up to 60 years. This approach is grossly irresponsible for such a high-risk technology”, says the French MEP Michèle Rivasi, stressing the “stranglehold” of proponents of nuclear in key posts within the Commission.
Rivasi goes on to criticise as “scandalous” the estimation of the costs of nuclear energy, both for the construction of new reactors and for compliance related to security, decommissioning and waste treatment. “The Commission should look to the United Kingdom, where the Hinkley Point C reactor project has turned out to be a fiasco”, she stresses.
The Commission has estimated the cost of decommissioning a nuclear power station in France as €623 million,whilst the French Court of Auditors has put the figure at €1.7 billion, criticises her Luxembourg colleague, Claude Turmes, regretting the fact that the Commission is “simply ignoring the reality that nuclear power can no longer compete with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power”.
Although the Commission “acknowledges that billions of euros are required for decommissioning nuclear plants and dealing with nuclear waste are missing, it makes no proposals for how this gap should be addressed. The only answer given is to prolong the lifetime of nuclear reactors. This is at odds with the EU treaties and the principle that those responsible for such costs should foot the bill”, he stresses.
According to PINC 2016, up to €755 billion in investments will be needed in the nuclear cycle of the EU between now and 2050, including more than €250 billion for the decommissioning of nuclear plants at the end of their lifetimes and the management of radioactive waste (EUROPE 11524).
On the basis of a study unveiled in mid-March, which was prepared by the energy consultancy agency Wise, which has links to the anti-nuclear movement, the Greens/EFA group dismisses PINC 2016 as “illusory”. Amongst other things, this study concludes that the investment needs presented by PINC 2016 have been underplayed by at least one third for new reactors and at least half for extending lifetimes, whilst the costs for decommissioning and waste management have been underestimated by more than half (EUROPE 11512). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)