Climate action & energy Commissioner: nuclear has to be part of solution to EU energy challenges

Any solution to the European Union’s wider energy challenges has to factor in nuclear because the energy it produces constitutes a reliable source of baseload, low-carbon electricity, plays an important role in energy security, and contributes to meeting the EU’s decarbonisation targets, commissioner for climate action and energy Miguel Arias Cañete said on 30 June 2015.

Mr Cañete told the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (Ensreg) Nuclear Safety Conference on 30 June 2015 in Brussels that nuclear energy can play an important role “across all of the dimensions” of the proposed Energy Union.

He said half of EU member states use nuclear for electricity generation, representing a share of nearly 30 percent of the EU’s electricity. That accounts for 50 percent of the EU’s low-carbon electricity, he said.

Overall electricity generation is envisaged to significantly increase in the EU from now until 2050, but EU nuclear generation capacity is expected to remain stable, Mr Cañete said.

Mr Cañete said the European Commission’s role is to ensure that nuclear energy is used within a legal framework that ensures the highest standards of nuclear safety, the highest standards of radiological protection, and the appropriate treatment of radioactive waste “in the medium and long term”.

For further information, please read Mr Cañete’s speech and the full NucNet article.
Source: NucNet