2023-09-04 06:08:02
Over the same weekend, Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed that nuclear has no place in the country’s energy mix, while Italy pledged to speed up its integration in order to cut costs, save the economy and promote the green transition.
The European Commission’s inclusion of nuclear as a source of green energy in the taxonomy regulation has highlighted the divisions across Europe. Member states are bickering over whether this energy source can really be considered green and sustainable.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the drive to replace Russian gas with other energy sources, the need to rein in soaring energy costs, and high ambitions for phasing out fossil fuels have led a number of countries to reconsider their position, and in some cases even to turn around.
On Saturday (September 2), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said they would not restart the “dead horse” nuclear energy after calls from the Liberals, who are part of the governing coalition, to reactivate them following the country’s recent exit from nuclear energy.
Germany’s last nuclear power plants, Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2, were shut down in April 2023 despite soaring energy prices and fears of a cold and expensive winter. The government maintains that phasing out nuclear power, which began in 2000, will make the country safer because the risks of nuclear power are unmanageable.
In an interview with the radio station Dlf On Saturday, Scholz stressed that using nuclear power in Germany’s energy mix was no longer an option.
“In Germany today, the subject of nuclear energy is a dead horse”, said the Social Democrat.
“Anyone who wants to build new power plants would take 15 years and would have to spend 15 to 20 billion per unit”, he added.
Mr Scholz’s remarks come after representatives of the FDP, the Chancellor’s liberal coalition partner, called for the dismantling of still usable reactors to be halted in order to reactivate them.
“It’s the only way to remain able to act in any situation”, FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the daily SZ on Thursday (31 August).
Differences over whether to maintain nuclear power in Germany led to serious tensions within the coalition, especially between the FDP and the fundamentally anti-nuclear Greens, at the end of last year, until Mr. Scholz to step in and set the release date for April 2023.
However, the Chancellor said he did not expect another such intervention to be necessary as the facts speak for themselves.
“Nuclear energy is at the end of its tether: it is no longer used in Germany, the exit has been carried out legally”, he pointed out.
Germany has given up nuclear power for good
Germany shut down its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, quitting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis sparked by war in Ukraine.
Italy is going nuclear
In Italy, the authorities want to take a completely opposite turn.
Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced on Sunday (3 September) his intention to accelerate the production of nuclear energy at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio (Lombardy).
On November 8, 1987, Italy said no to nuclear energy through a referendum, which led to the closure of several nuclear power plants. However, the referendum does not introduce any prohibition and it is not necessary to reiterate it to continue the construction of nuclear power plants. An ordinary law describing a national energy plan would suffice.
Nuclear power enjoys broad support from all right-wing and center-right parties and was mentioned during the election campaign by Antonio Tajani’s Lega (ID) and Forza Italia (PPE), as well as by Fratelli d’Italia (CRE), the party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“It will be a legislative government, and if we have done well, I hope we will also have the next five years. In this time, I am convinced that this government, with the current conformation, will be able to inaugurate the first production (of energy) derived from nuclear”, Mr. Salvini said.
“I believe that Italy must, during this year, resume its research and participation in nuclear energy. Italy cannot avoid it. I’m convinced that […] this government will have the strength to explain to the Italians why, in the name of technological neutrality, we cannot say no to any source of energy”, explained Salvini, who also did not spare the EU heavy criticism over budgetary constraints on public spending.
“If Europe asks us for ambitious green targets in housing and cars by sacrificing agriculture and fishing, it cannot impose budgetary constraints that allow others to enter our house”, said the Lega leader.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, announced that on September 21, institutions and companies will meet at the ministry for the first meeting of the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear. This new entity will serve as liaison and coordination between all the different national actors who, in various capacities, deal with nuclear energy, security and radiation protection, as well as radioactive waste.
“We are engaged in fusion experimentation, with several agreements at international level, and we pay the greatest attention to fourth-generation fission, which also means the evaluation of small reactors which, within ten years , could be an opportunity for the country”, said Mr. Fratin.
The European energy quagmire
If Germany, the first European power, is at the forefront in the fight against nuclear power, Austria is also firmly opposed to it. In November 2022, Vienna sued the European Commission for awarding the green label to nuclear energy as part of the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy.
At the time, Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said Austria would maintain its anti-nuclear stance vis-à-vis its neighbours.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at Germany for its stance, accusing Berlin of deliberately opposing growing nuclear acceptance in Europe.
“It would be a historic mistake to […] slow down investment in nuclear energy […] and Europe », especially if it results in favoring “more coal” asserted Mr. Macron, likely triggering Mr. Scholz’s post this weekend.
France is also a key player in the nuclear alliance and has made it clear that “French nuclear power is not negotiable and never will be”.
Belgium recently halted a nuclear phase-out scheduled for 2025 due to legal challenges and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has chosen to postpone the closure of two reactors for ten years.
In other parts of Europe, nuclear power is an essential part of the energy mix and governments show no sign of moving away from it. For example, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia all have operating nuclear reactors which provide a significant share of the national energy.
The governments of these countries plan to increase their capacities.
In non-EU states, Albania, following a meeting between Prime Minister Edi Rama and Giorgia Meloni, is reportedly considering collaboration in the field of nuclear energy. The subject was discussed several times in the country after its democratic transition in 1991, but no firm plan was drawn up.
Serbia and Kosovo do not currently have any nuclear power plants and have no plans to build any in the near future. However, in 2022, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that Serbia needs power plants to meet its renewable energy targets.
At the other end of the spectrum, Spain and Portugal, both led by socialist governments, remain firmly opposed to nuclear power. However, a change of government in Madrid could extend the life of the country’s nuclear power plants.
While Portugal relies on hydropower, Spain continues to import Russian gas, the volume of which doubled last May.
With Germany’s latest statement and Italy’s acceleration of reactivation plans, Europe could soon find itself torn between member states choosing sides on nuclear and fuel dependence fossil fuels, especially Russian gas.
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