Europe’s fission over nuclear power
As gas shortages and price surges put Europe’s energy infrastructure under pressure, a rift is emerging between France and Germany over nuclear power.
The two countries are at loggerheads over whether the contentious technology is key to the continent keeping prices stable, guaranteeing supply and shifting to carbon neutrality.
Germany sits at the head of the anti-nuclear grouping which includes Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain, all of which rely on nuclear power very little, if at all. Angela Merkel was spooked by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, and in the immediate aftermath committed to retiring all of Germany’s atomic plants by 2022. It’s one of the most momentous decisions from the Chancellor’s 16 years in office, tilting the country’s energy strategy towards costlier wind and solar power, as well as Russian gas.
Fear of disaster is still the nub of Germany’s case against nuclear. A spokesman for the environment ministry said on Wednesday: “In the event of an accident, entire regions would become uninhabitable and many future generations of tax payers would have to pay for the damage as well as deal with the waste. All this is obviously not sustainable.”
Yet Germans need only look next door for proof nuclear can work. Around 75 per cent of France’s electricity comes from atomic power, compared to around a quarter for the EU as a whole. It’s part of the reason electricity in France is a little over half the cost per unit compared to Germany.
French enthusiasm for nuclear energy was also dented post-Fukushima, and under pressure from Germany Emmanuel Macron vowed to slash France’s share of nuclear-generated power to 50 per cent by 2035.
But the recent rocketing of energy prices has changed the equation. As part of a €30bn post-pandemic investment in industry unveiled by Macron this week are plans to build a new generation of six “mini” nuclear plants which are seen as cheaper and safer than conventional models.
France has also formed an alliance of European countries that want nuclear power to be re-classified as a “green technology” in the EU’s industrial ratings, which would allow private investment to benefit from low-carbon subsidies.
France was joined by Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania in signing up to an initiative making the case for nuclear power as a “key affordable, stable and independent energy source”, that was low-carbon and would insulate consumers from price spikes.
A joint statement said: “The rise of energy prices has also shown how important it is to reduce our energy dependence on third countries as fast as possible.” Russia is the largest supplier of gas to Europe and President Putin’s suggestion that supply could be increased if the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is opened has made plain the continent’s energy vulnerability.
EU natural gas prices are more than five times higher than a year ago, while electricity prices are more than twice as high. At least a fifth of the energy price rise can be attributed to the restriction of gas supply from Russia and the EU’s own carbon pricing policies.
It helps explain why the French-led charge in favour of nuclear is gaining momentum and why critics see Germany’s reluctance to embrace it as an act of self-sabotage, particularly given the bloc’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
As the environmental journalist and author Mark Lynas points out: “The current global energy crisis has made it clear that renewables can’t scale up much further without back-up from either nuclear or fossil fuels. And only one of these options is carbon-free…”