11/30/2022 06:49 (act. 11/30/2022 06:55)
Austria is virtually alone in the fight against the new wave of nuclear power. ©Canva, Portal
Nuclear power is making a comeback in Europe. To achieve the proposed climate goals, more and more countries see the future in nuclear power plants.
The energy crisis caused by the Russian war of aggression further fueled plans to build new nuclear reactors. The nuclear eliminations already decided upon were postponed. Austria, which for years has been considered one of the biggest opponents of nuclear power in Europe, has little wind in its uphill battle.
Half of our neighboring countries are upgrading nuclear power reactors
France is the driving force behind advocates of nuclear energy. Currently, the country covers 70% of its energy needs with nuclear energy. Construction of six additional nuclear reactors by 2035 is planned, eight more nuclear reactors may follow. The eastern neighbors of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Finland, are also clear supporters of nuclear power.
In all these countries – except Croatia – there are plans to build new reactors. States argue for the need for nuclear power as an affordable, stable and independent energy source that is also CO2 neutral. A total of 14 of the 27 EU countries are currently dependent on nuclear energy. Although Croatia does not operate its own nuclear power plant, it is a co-owner of the Krško nuclear power plant in Slovenia.
Together, the approximately 110 reactors in operation in the EU produce 765,337 gigawatt hours and therefore 26% of all electricity produced. Poland is the 15th country planning to enter nuclear energy. The first nuclear reactor is scheduled to come on stream in 2033 and contribute to the energy transition. Coal-fired power plants currently cover around 70% of Poland’s electricity needs.
Germany and Belgium will use nuclear energy during the winter
The planned phase out of nuclear power in Germany and Belgium was recently postponed due to the war in Ukraine and rising energy prices. Germany’s last three nuclear power plants were supposed to be closed at the end of the year, but now they must continue working until April 15 next year to guarantee energy supplies this winter.
Belgian nuclear power plants were originally scheduled to shut down in 2025. To ensure energy security, the Tihange 3 and Doel 4 reactors are scheduled to continue operating at least until the end of 2035. Belgium came from nuclear energy.
In Italy too, which abandoned nuclear power in 1987, a year after the Chernobyl reactor catastrophe, recent calls have been made for a return to nuclear power. The right-wing government that ruled recently is open to building modern reactors. There are no concrete plans so far. Italians last rejected the same request in a referendum in 2011.
In the fight against nuclear power: Austria takes legal action
With its categorical rejection of nuclear energy, Austria is completely alone in this situation. Therefore, the government is mainly relying on legal action. In October, Austria filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the EU Commission’s plans to classify nuclear energy as sustainable. So far, only Luxembourg has entered the Austrian action.
Most EU countries support what is known as a taxonomy regulation, which means that future financial investments in gas and nuclear energy will be considered climate friendly. This should help mobilize the billions needed for climate change and pave the way for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050.
In the case of the expansion of the Hungarian nuclear power plant in Paks, Austria also brought an action before the Court of Justice. The verdict is expected on Wednesday, but the Paks 2 verdict is likely to be based on the Hinkley Point verdict.
In the past, Austria has suffered a defeat before the ECJ with its case against state aid for Britain’s planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. In 2015, the government asked the ECJ for EU Commission approval for this aid to be declared void.
The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg dismissed the claim at first instance in 2018, and the sentence was upheld in 2020 after an objection from Austria. In this procedure too, Austria was only supported by Luxembourg.
Small States, Big Opinions: The Warriors in the Fight Against Nuclear Power Plants
Austria has also been at war with the expansion of nuclear power in its eastern neighbors for years. The construction of the nuclear power plant in Temelín, Czech Republic, before the EU’s eastward expansion, has already strained relations between Prague and Vienna. There have also been repeated protests from Austria against the lack of safety standards at power plants close to the border in Bohunice and Mochovce in Slovakia, Dukovany in the Czech Republic, Paks in Hungary and Krško in Slovenia.
After the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, the EU accepted the Austrian demand for Europe-wide “stress tests” for nuclear power plants in the European Union. However, Austria was the only EU country not to agree with the 2012 report of the European High Level Group on Nuclear Safety and Waste Management (ENSREG), and abstained. The report lacks an assessment of individual nuclear power plants, their shortcomings and problems. In addition, the timeline for the review was too short, the federal government criticized.
In November 2019, Austria, along with Luxembourg, also blocked an agreement on the upcoming EURATOM program worth billions. The reason for the no was that the program said that nuclear power was sustainable and could help meet climate goals. Austria had already blocked Euratom’s research program in 2011, but eventually gave up resistance after a strengthening of safety research was enshrined in the program.
Inside Austria, everyone agrees: “Nuclear power? No thanks!”
In the 2020 government program, the turquoise-green federal government pledged to combat the “construction and expansion of nuclear power plants in Europe, especially in neighboring countries, using all available political and legal means”. In particular, the commissioning of the Slovak Mochovce 3 and 4 reactors must be prevented. The strict anti-nuclear course is shared by all parties in Austria. In Europe, on the other hand, supporters of nuclear energy are in the majority and are happy with the renaissance of nuclear energy.