Nuclear Power Phase-out - Overview

Overview

A popular movement against nuclear power has gained strength in the Western world, based on concerns about more nuclear accidents and concerns about nuclear waste. Anti-nuclear critics see nuclear power as a dangerous, expensive way to boil water to generate electricity. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster played a key role in stopping new plant construction in many countries. Major anti-nuclear power groups include Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Sortir du nucléaire (France).

Several countries, especially European countries, have abandoned the use of nuclear energy since 1987. Austria (1978), Sweden (1980) and Italy (1987) voted in referendums to oppose or phase out nuclear power, while opposition in Ireland prevented a nuclear program there. Countries that have no nuclear plants and have restricted new plant constructions comprise Australia, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Ireland and Norway. Poland stopped the construction of a plant. Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Sweden decided not to build new plants or intend to phase out nuclear power, although still mostly relying on nuclear energy.

The parliamentary decision in 2002 in Finland to grant a licence for the construction of a fifth nuclear power station was seen as very significant in that it was the first such decision to build a new nuclear power plant in Western Europe for more than a decade.

Countries that wish to shut down nuclear power plants must attempt to find alternatives for energy generation; otherwise, they are forced to become dependent on imports. Therefore, the discussion of a future for nuclear energy is intertwined with a discussion of renewable energy commercialization. Alternatives to nuclear power include hydroelectricity, wind power, solar energy, biomass and other renewable energy sources.

Currently in Germany were there is a Nuclear phase out the switch to other forms of energy is expected to cost around $340 billion over 10 years in required investments alone (which represents over 3% of German GDP), Critically, The German shift is both increasing carbon emissions and electricity prices in Germany, and might endanger the shift away from coal power in Europe. Furthermore the increased demand for natural gas that Germany will increasingly require to run its economy is causing Russia to extend the lives of its RBMK (Chernobyl) reactors in order to be able to sell more of its gas to Germany. Therefore the Nuclear power phase out in Germany is having far reaching unintended consequences, essentially by turning off its more advanced Nuclear reactors, Germany is putting incentives on Russia to continue to run their older, more dangerous reactors.

The shortfall in Energy in Germany from their nuclear phase out will also force it to continue to rely on its other neighbours to make up for their shortfall, including electricity imported from France's nuclear power facilities.