Could Nuclear Power Cut Europe’s Dependence on Russian Energy?

If EU countries decided to make the switch to nuclear energy, it would likely be difficult. Russia is a powerhouse in the nuclear power market: it provides about 35 percent of the enriched uranium needed for reactors worldwide and it constructed many of the reactors that have come online in recent years. “Russia has been very aggressive in building nuclear power plants abroad,” Vetter says.

What’s the Debate?
Russia’s war in Ukraine has made clear that the EU should diversify its energy sources, but it has not yet sparked a bloc-wide turn toward nuclear power. Instead, the war appears to have led to a hardening of countries’ long-held positions for and against expanding nuclear power.

Countries in favor of developing nuclear power, such as France, Finland, and Poland, have said it is critical for the transition away from coal and other fossil fuels. They also point to technological advancements, such as small modular reactors, that could be cheaper and easier to bring online than traditional nuclear power plants. The European Commission is set to decide later this year whether to classify nuclear power as a clean energy source; if it does, that could boost investment in nuclear power across the region, experts say.

Countries against expanding nuclear power, including Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal, have raised concerns about the disposal of nuclear waste and the risks of an accident. The high costs of constructing and maintaining nuclear power plants, as well as the increasing affordability of clean energy sources such as wind and solar, also factor into their positions.

After Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Germany sped up plans to shut down its reactors. Its remaining three are scheduled to be shut down this year. As the war in Ukraine unfolded, officials floated the idea of keeping them open but eventually decided against it. (The United Kingdom, which currently has eleven operable reactors, is considering extending the operation of one nuclear power plant by twenty years.)

The war has also heightened concerns of a nuclear accident. In early March, Russian forces damaged the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and later took control of it. “The war has made everybody wake up and realize we didn’t design these reactors to be war-proof,” says Allison Macfarlane, director of the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs who previously served as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Lindsay Maizland is senior writer/editor, Asia, at CFR.This article is published courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations(CFR).