BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 22. Construction of new nuclear power plants in Europe is not a viable solution to reduce reliance on Russian gas imports in the short term, Trend reports with reference to Moody’s.
“Nuclear energy has been a declining power source for Europe, with generation falling 10 percent in 2020 from the prior year. Although some countries, such as the UK, have committed to increasing their nuclear energy ambitions following the invasion, the siting, licensing and construction of a nuclear plant requires many years to complete. While extending the life of existing nuclear reactors might be possible in some areas, this is unlikely to be an option in countries like Germany, where decommissioning of nuclear plants is already underway,” Moody’s said in its latest report.
Moreover, the rating agency’s analysts note that many investors are leery of supporting new nuclear projects because of the sector's track record of rampant cost escalation.
“While nuclear generating units emit close to zero greenhouse gas emissions operationally, the years-long remediation and decontamination efforts following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster have highlighted the environmental and safety risks associated with nuclear power. Other ESG challenges related to nuclear power include the disposal of nuclear waste, which remains extremely hazardous over a long period of time, the impact of uranium mining and the large amount of water consumption required for steam cooling processes,” the report says.
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