26 April 2024

Phasing out nuclear power in Europe is possible

Jan van Evert, editor Nuclear Monitor

Politicians from Europe and many other countries recently promoted nuclear power at a conference in Brussels held by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to IAEA head Rafael Grossi, nuclear power is a solution to climate change. However, building new nuclear power plants to decarbonise Europe in time is unrealistic. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has published the report ‘Nuclear Phase-out’ demonstrating that phasing out nuclear power alongside fossil fuels is feasible. It is even compatible with climate targets as the EU accelerates the deployment of renewables and energy savings.

Several factors contribute to this assessment. First, given the need to rapidly reduce emissions from the EU’s power sector in line with climate targets, the long lead times and construction delays of nuclear power plants significantly increase the risk of overshooting remaining the EU’s carbon budget. Second, high investment and maintenance costs render nuclear power plants uncompetitive with renewables. This leads to a very heavy reliance on public funding and associated political lags – likely to reduce resources for phasing out fossil fuels rapidly. Third, uncertainties about the safety of nuclear power plants and climate vulnerability of nuclear reactors that rely on river water cooling add further financial burdens and delays.

The report is based on the Paris Agreement Compatible (PAC) energy scenario. There are two main decarbonisation drivers displacing nuclear power from the energy mix over time. First, a sharp energy demand reduction, driven by efficiency and sufficiency measures, improved circularity and recycling, and the electrification of processes that currently rely on fossil fuels. Secondly, faster renewable energy deployment, replacing fossil fuels and nuclear power. Grids, storage, and demand-side management will maximize the use of renewable energy for electricity generation.

It is important to realize that the role of nuclear power in the energy transition is limited. Nuclear power currently makes a small contribution to the EU’s energy needs. Only 12 of the 27 EU countries generate nuclear power, which accounts for less than five percent of the bloc’s final energy consumption. The PAC nuclear phase-out trajectory is in line with the planned retirement of the ageing European nuclear reactors. Without further extensions, most of the capacity in operation in 2022 will reach retirement age by 2040.

The combination of renewable energy, energy savings and flexibility tools can ensure stable energy security and fully replace fossil fuels. It can even replace the remaining nuclear power plants.

The full report can be downloaded here;