Spain just confirmed it will go ahead with plans to close all nuclear power plants by 2035, but Europe remains divided over whether nuclear energy should be part of the climate change solution.
Managing the radioactive waste and dismantling the power plant will cost around 20.2 billion euros ($22.4 billion) and will be paid for by a fund supported by the power plant operators.
The future of the country’s nuclear power plants has been a major issue in recent election campaigns, with one of the main business lobbies calling for an extension to the plant’s use, while the conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) backed away from its planned phase-out. I promised.
Spain’s tough stance comes at a time when Europe’s nuclear sector is enjoying something of a renaissance, with a clear shift in support for nuclear power amid the transition to lower carbon fuels. There are also new moves toward strengthening global energy security. The energy crisis stemmed from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Dozens of governments and influential organizations that previously opposed nuclear energy have begun to openly embrace and welcome nuclear power as a necessary role in driving global electrification and decarbonization.
In a landmark case, Finland’s Green Party voted overwhelmingly in favor of classifying nuclear power as a form of sustainable energy in 2022, after decades of strong opposition. One third of Finland’s electricity is generated by nuclear power. Meanwhile, the German and Japanese publics are becoming more receptive to nuclear power.
”I’m very happy and proud. We are the first Green party in the world to officially renounce anti-nuclearism, and this is a historic moment in the history of the Green movement.” said Ti Terminen, a voting member of the party’s internal science advocacy group Viite and head of the Savonia Karelia branch, shortly after the vote.
Nuclear energy is considered a preferable energy source to returning to coal combustion. According to the Netherlands-based anti-nuclear group WISE, nuclear power plants emit 117 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour, far less than burning lignite, which emits more than 1,000 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour. .
Written by Charles Kennedy, Oilprice.com
Other top articles on Oilprice.com: