Nuclear energy is back at the fore, with the spotlight being on small modular reactors and their potential role in the country’s energy system. The question that needs to be asked is whether Greece can – and should – be part of developments in this area.
The answer to the first question is obvious: a country that wants to determine its energy choices must have the scientific background, institutions and infrastructure to capably assess technological developments. Greece has such a foundation and has had it for decades. The Demokritos Research Center operated a nuclear research reactor for over 40 years (its operation was suspended in July 2004 for Olympic Games security reasons), and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) has maintained a nuclear technology laboratory since 1965, staffed by scientists who are actively involved in international developments.
In the public discussion that has been taking place over the past few days, SMRs appear as a mature and readily available option that can offer a cheap, clean and steady supply of energy. This is far from the truth. There are no commercial SMRs in operation in the Western world as yet, while an ambitious program to this end in the United States was eventually canceled. Only two such reactors are in operation right now – in Russia and China – while commercial applications are not seen appearing in the West until the early 2030s.
One of the arguments in favor of SMRs is that they contribute to energy independence. This is true insofar as countries have their own nuclear technology. Reactors, operational expertise, maintenance, critical components, fuel, waste management and final decommissioning are all part of international supply chains controlled by a handful of countries. Similarly, the number of countries producing uranium for nuclear fuel is small, with four countries accounting for over three-quarters of global production. Furthermore, approximately 40% of the world’s nuclear fuel enrichment capacity is controlled by Russia. For a country like Greece, nuclear energy does not eliminate dependencies; it simply reshapes them.
The most crucial factor, however, is the cost of electricity production. Recent scientific publications demonstrate that the uncertainties in the estimates of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for small reactors are immense, which increases skepticism regarding the reported expected costs. These figures are estimated to be higher than those of conventional nuclear power plants.
A lot of progress has been made on the safety aspects, but they have not been eradicated, while the environmental impact can also be significant. For example, a study from Harvard University published in Nature Communications two months ago reports a higher instance of cancer-related deaths in areas around nuclear reactors in the United States.
The question that Greece needs to ask itself, therefore, is: Do we really need nuclear energy? Renewables are making rapid progress in this country, even rendering it an electricity exporter at times. The main problem, however, is not in production but in tapping the energy produced because of a lack of storage infrastructure. Over the past year, renewable energy curtailment reached levels nearly equal to the annual consumption of the agricultural sector. This year, losses are projected to climb even higher, exceeding the total annual electricity demand of Crete.
This shortcoming makes the immediate development of energy storage facilities essential. What’s more, the combination of renewables with storage technologies is becoming increasingly competitive, with estimated costs for dispatchable renewable power already lower than those of nuclear energy. Utilizing controllable domestic renewables, such as geothermal energy, is not just a theoretical option but a viable policy. If the country is currently curtailing a portion of its renewable production because it cannot utilize it, then the logical priority is not to plan for nuclear power plants. Instead, the focus must shift to mature solutions that directly address existing challenges.
Nuclear energy is not something to get excited about. Greece needs to monitor and study developments. It has no reason to choose a form of technology that is still rife with uncertainty, is costly and is still a long way away – especially when it has much more mature and applicable alternatives.
Konstantinos Mathioudakis is a professor at the National Technical University of Athens’ School of Mechanical Engineering and a former general secretary for energy.