On the sidelines of the European Nuclear Energy Forum in Prague on Monday 22 May, the European nuclear interest group New Nuclear Watch Europe (NNWE) called on the EU and its member states to do more to support the construction of new power stations in order to meet the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris international climate agreement.
At an information meeting hosted by NNWE, the stakeholders of the civil nuclear sector stressed the need for the leaders of the EU and its member states to act to support the construction of new plants to ensure that the EU meets its decarbonisation targets, warning that if no action is taken, the EU will end up below the level of new nuclear capacity needed to decarbonise its electricity production. And plugging the gap with other low-carbon solutions (renewables: Ed) would increase costs by at least €50 billion compared to the most pessimistic cost projections for nuclear, the association warned.
The Czech deputy minister for industry, Lenka Kovačovská, highlighted the key role of nuclear to allow central Europe to meet its decarbonisation targets in a financially viable way whilst ensuring its energy security. In comparing the viability of nuclear to that of renewables, she called for all costs involved in operating the electricity system to be taken into account, including the costs of short-term storage in the case of mass deployment of renewables.
Whilst the key role of nuclear in decarbonising electricity production is well known, the new capacity situation in the EU is particularly alarming, NNWE warns. If the current combination of market forces and regulation persists, nearly a third of the existing nuclear fleet will be lost, it stresses. Of the 34 GWe of new capacity needed by 2030, according to current reference scenarios, only 4 GWe is under construction and 12 GWe is planned, such as Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom and Paks in Hungary, which are the target of anti-nuclear groups and governments; the remaining 18 GWe of capacity is on hold due to political and/or financial uncertainty, the organisation laments.
“It is evident that the EU projects in the pipeline are impossible without foreign investment. Only vendors from Russia, China and South Korea seem to offer competitive technology-finance packages enabling final electricity prices to remain within the reasonable range of €55-75/MWh. The EU should revisit its set of policies to encourage foreign investment in nuclear”, NNWE insists.
Lastly, the civil nuclear sector stakeholders discussed ways of reinforcing cooperation between the pro-nuclear European countries ahead of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) and the Euratom treaty (Brexatom). On this matter, NNWE highlighted its proposal for a new Organisation for Nuclear Cooperation in Europe, ONCE (see EUROPE 11746). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)