The time has come for Greece to explore if nuclear modular reactors can play a role in its energy system, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday, in a conference on nuclear power held in Paris.
“The time for my country has come to explore if nuclear power, and especially if small nuclear reactors, can play a role in the Greek power system,” he said, announcing plans for a high-level ministerial committee to put forward proposals on this issue.
Mitsotakis noted that Greece had always been somewhat of an exception to the general rule in not having nuclear energy, partly due to its access in earlier decades to cheap lignite.
The Greek prime minister stressed that Greece has invested heavily in renewable energy in recent years, adding that more than half of electricity now comes from solar and wind power. He explained that “renewables have turned the country from a net electricity importer into an exporter of electricity,” while adding that “we will continue to invest in solar and wind.”
However, he noted, Europe cannot achieve the things that it wants – strategic autonomy, economic competitiveness and phasing out of carbon – without nuclear power and “unfortunately, Europe has lately turned away from nuclear energy.” In two decades nuclear output in Europe has declined, Mitsotakis said, while the combined output of all the solar panels installed in the EU over the past 20 years did not make up for this loss of nuclear power. The Greek premier described this as a “own goal” but added that nuclear energy is now “clearly having a comeback.”
Mitsotakis pointed out that this was a common sense position, given the radical technological developments and huge innovation in nuclear technology, as well as the constantly rising need for electricity. “Regardless of how much we expand renewable energy sources, we will need a long-term, predictable baseload power,” he added, noting that no other technology can compete with what nuclear power can offer, even though public opinion remains divided.
The Greek premier also said that Greece is particularly interested in nuclear energy in shipping, noting that the technology has been used in the military for decades.
“We have no reliable solution for decarbonizing shipping,” he stated and added: “Nuclear energy must be part of that discussion, and Greece wants to be at the forefront. Greece is ready to write a new chapter. It is a friend of nuclear energy, whether nuclear power ends up playing a role in Greece or not.”
“In times of major upheaval, all options should be on the table, and our task is for nuclear energy to be part of the solution again,” he said.
source ANA-MPA