I have talked about nuclear issues in Europe in general and in specific European nations before. Today I am going to blog about a major division between European nations over the need to utilize nuclear power. Twenty five years ago, the Soviet Union collapsed, releasing Eastern European countries from their bondage. The Soviets built a lot of nuclear reactors in the part of Europe that they controlled. Now, what was once called the Iron Curtain, seems to be dividing European countries that are moving away from nuclear power from those who are rushing towards it.
Germany and Austria have rejected nuclear power altogether. Germany made the decision to shut down all nuclear power plants in Germany by the year 2022, partly because the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Austria halted their nuclear power program after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. Their reasoning is that the danger of a nuclear accident and the damage that it could cause far outweigh any of the supposed advantages of nuclear power. Austria is launching legal challenges against other countries in the European Union (EU) over nuclear plans.
The government of the Czech Republic released a report last month that details their plans for an expansion of nuclear power in the Republic in the coming years. By 2040, they want to be producing half of their power from nuclear reactors, up from about a third of current electricity generation.
One of the new Czech reactors is going to be built thirty miles from the border with Austria at the Temelin nuclear power plant which already has two nuclear power reactors. There was a fierce dispute between the Czechs and the Austrians over the construction of the first two reactors at Temelin which began in 1980 and a new dispute over the new reactor project is heating up between the two countries.
The Austrians tried to force the Czechs to shut down Temelin power plant as the price for allowing the Czech Republic to become a member of the E.U. An Austrian official is threatening to take legal action in E.U. courts to block construction of the new reactor at Temelin. One of the concerns expressed by the Austrians is that the financing for the new Temelin reactor has not been resolved. They say that without subsides or state involvement, construction of the reactor could bankrupt the builder and force taxpayers and electricity customer to make up the cash shortfall. The Czechs have responded that they have confidence that the construction company has the resources to finish the project.
Hungary and Slovakia which were once communist nations are now member of the E. U. They are both constructing new nuclear power reactors. Poland is considering setting up its own nuclear program for power generation. They respond to pressure from Western European members of the EU who criticize nuclear power by saying that they consider nuclear power to be safe, inexpensive and low-carbon. They say that they should have the right to choose their own power sources. The nuclear skeptics in Western Europe respond that the danger of accidents is too great and damage would spread across the borders of the counties building the reactors to other European countries.
