Some members of the European Union are promoting the idea of partially labeling nuclear power investments as climate-friendly. Such a decision by the EU could slow down the development of sustainables.
Two new reports on the future of nuclear energy appear to have come two different worlds. Germany made the decision in 2011 to completely phase out nuclear energy. It has just taken three of its last six reactors off its electrical grid. On the other hand, the E.U. Commission has just published a plan that states that investments in gas and nuclear power plants are to be considered climate-friendly under certain conditions.
The E.U. is being pressured by France on nuclear power expansion. France has fifty-eight nuclear power plants. Its national energy supply is based on nuclear power. The French President has used the temporary power vacuum caused by the recent change in government in Germany to push a revaluation of nuclear energy through the E.U. Commission. It appears that there is little Germany can do about it.
The nuclear issue is likely to cause serious problems for Germany’s Green Party which is a coalition partner in the new German government. The consideration of nuclear energy as being climate-friendly would amount to a political betrayal for the Green Party and its constituents.
For years, nuclear advocates have been lobbying for nuclear power as a sustainable energy source because operating nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide. However, power plant construction, uranium mining and refining, fuel transport and waste management do generate carbon dioxide.
In the wake of major nuclear accidents, entire regions can become uninhabitable for long periods of time with the public bearing most of the cost of cleanup. Nuclear power can hardly be considered to be sustainable.
What has been overlooked in the E.U. nuclear power debate is the huge task shared by all nations operating nuclear power plants to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. The development of permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel will cost billions of dollars.
Giving the facts mentioned above, nuclear power cannot be considered a sustainable form of energy generation. The construction of the new nuclear power plants cannot be considered “resource-efficient”. Nuclear power is unlikely to make a comeback. In countries that operate nuclear power plants, the life span of existing power plants is being extended. Plans to construct new plants are failing mostly because of the huge costs involved.
There is a huge demand for more energy across the globe. It is expected to increase when Covid-19 wanes. China, in particular, relies on all types of power generation including nuclear.
In the long run, all countries will come to rely on renewable energy, in spite of the lobbying for old forms of energy generation. Even after the E.U. makes the decision to label nuclear energy as sustainable, it will be important to wait and see how many investors actually want to invest in outdated forms of energy generation. Most major investment funds have already canceled their involvement in coal power generation. It is unlikely that they will have any appetite to keep an outdated form of technology that comes with high risks alive for a few more years.