On Tuesday 12 December, MEPs backed by 409 votes to 173 with 31 abstentions the own-initiative report by Franc Bogovič (EPP, Slovenian) supporting the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) to promote security of energy supply and contribute to the EU’s competitiveness in this field.
“SMRs are reliable and can be modulated to produce electricity. This will make it possible to boost energy production, in addition to solar and wind power, and new generations of nuclear power stations”, explained Mr Bogovič at a debate held the previous day, Monday 11 December, in Strasbourg.
He added that “the use of these SMRs will be essential if we are to be competitive with the United States, Russia, China and other nuclear countries”.
In Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, ECR and ID Groups supported the compromise amendment (see EUROPE 13303/14).
A large number of MEPs from these political groups agree on the principle of ‘technology neutrality’ and the importance of nuclear energy in achieving the EU’s decarbonisation objectives.
Klemen Grošelj (Renew Europe, Slovenian) welcomed the fact that by opening up the debate on the role of nuclear technology, “we are completing the set of technologies that will be crucial to the success of the green transition”, but he was keen to point out that SMRs would not miraculously solve all the problems.
“The nuclear industry, like any other energy industry, faces common problems: a lack of access to critical raw materials, a shortage of qualified personnel and the need for highly complex infrastructure projects”, he insisted.
Tsvetelina Penkova (S&D, Bulgarian) welcomed the report and said that SMRs were a promising technology, but warned that their deployment “must not be at the expense of the high safety standards we have in Europe”.
For François Thiollet (Greens/EFA, French), echoing the words spoken 2 years earlier in the Chamber by Michèle Rivasi, a French MEP who died on 29 November, “SMRs are an illusion, a dangerous distraction in the name of the climate emergency”.
“What this text implies is the diversion of investments that should be made as a priority towards restraint and renewable energies. With the objective of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, how can we defend a technology whose first reactors will not be in service before 2035?”, he asked.
Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, for her part, spoke out in favour of the report. “Around 10 Member States are exploring the economic viability, safety and sustainability of these SMRs. They have the opportunity to meet all the potential challenges, in particular the issue of decarbonisation and electricity supply, but also the EU’s strategic autonomy”.
She also pointed out that the European Commission was working on the creation of a new industrial alliance dedicated to SMRs, which should see the light of day in early 2024 (see EUROPE 13287/12).
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/a3i (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)