Cuts in Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine have reignited interest in Europe about using nuclear energy as an alternative to hydrocarbons, sparking environmentalists’ ire.
“On nuclear energy, this crisis will have consequences for the way we consider energy security in all EU countries,” said Czech Energy Minister Martin Riman, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.
“One of the ways this might happen is to argue in favor of the return of nuclear energy,” he told a news conference in Brussels on Thursday.
The debate is already going strong in former Soviet bloc members of the EU which are highly dependent on Russian gas and have been hit hard by supply cuts in the standoff between Moscow and Kiev.
Even as Russia and Ukraine neared a deal that would lead to a resumption of gas supplies, Slovakia said on Saturday it would begin reopening a power generator at the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear plant because of the cutoff.
The decision was taken “in the interests of Slovakia, industry and citizens” Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
On Dec. 31, Slovakia shut down the last unit of the Jaslovske Bohunice plant in line with a commitment it made as a condition for its 2004 entry into the EU.
“We know that this is a violation of our conditions of membership” in the European Union, he said, but given the circumstances, there is “a risk of a blackout” that must be addressed.
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso had warned Slovakia against the move, saying that the response to the gas cuts was not to go back on promises.
Nuclear energy has long been one of the most sensitive subjects in Europe and it got a boost last year during the oil price boom when it was seen in some countries such as Britain and Italy as a possible alternative.
However, other countries slowly giving up on nuclear energy, such as Belgium, Germany and Sweden, refuse that it be openly touted as a solution for Europe’s future energy needs.
Meanwhile other European countries such as Ireland have never used nuclear energy.
France, by far Europe’s biggest nuclear power generator, has promoted its use as a way of reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Paris sees the Russian gas crisis as another argument in favor of nuclear energy, not to mention a source for potential new contracts for state controlled power giant Electricite de France.
Nuclear energy generates about one third of the EU’s electricity and accounts for about 15 percent of the bloc’s total energy consumption.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including