TheRelationshipbetweenClimateChangePoliciesandEnergySecurity EuropeandBeyond 3 65 5.犖狌犮犾犲犪狉犈狀犲狉犵狔 Nuclearenergyiscurrentlythelargestsinglesourceoflowcarbonelectricity intheEU.In2007 , itaccountedfor14percentoftheEUtotalenergysupply andprovided31percentoftheelectricitygenerated.Overall , thereare145 nuclearpowerplantsinoperationacross15EU memberstates ( mostofwhich werebuiltbetweenthe1970sand1980s )( EuropeanNuclearSociety2009 ), with anotherfournuclearpowerplantscurrentlyunderconstruction.EU member statescontinuetobedividedaboutnuclearenergy.Eventhoughsomemember statesrecentlycameforward with plansfornew plants , it would bean exaggerationtospeakofa ‘ nuclearrenaissance ’ .Evenifallcurrentlyplanned nuclearpowerplantswerebuiltinEurope , theywouldhardlybeabletoreplace theageingnuclearinfrastructure , letaloneaddtoexistingcapacity , should Germanyphaseoutits17nuclearpowerplantscurrentlyinoperation. Thoseinfavourarguethatnuclearenergycouldcontributetoincrease Europessecurityofenergysupplyandcontributesignificantlytoreachingthe EUsclimate objectives.First , this support comes from theincreasing competitivenessofelectricitygenerationfromnuclear.Thisisduetodeclining fuel ( includingenrichment ), operatingandmaintenancecosts , whiletheplant concernedhasbeenpaidfor ( World Nuclear Association2008 ) .However , it shouldbenotedthatlargecapitalcostsforconstructionofnewplantsremain problematic , especiallywithcapitalinshortsupplyduetothecurrentfinancial crisis.Inaddition , decliningoilpriceshave made manynuclearprojectsless competitive ( atleastintheshortterm ) .Second , theindigenousnatureof nuclearpowerproductionreassuresmemberstatesagainstrisksrelatedtoimport dependency.ItisnotsurprisingthatcentralandeasternEuropeancountries — withthehighestdependencyonRussiangasimports — aremostsupportiveof nuclearpower.Whilealmost100percentofEU uraniumrequirementsare importedfromabroad , itsavailabilityinreliablecountriessuchasCanadaand Australia — accountingfor45percentofEUuraniumrequirements — usuallydoes notraiseimportdependencyconcerns.Thethirdreasonfornuclearsupportis relatedtothefactthat , togetherwithrenewableenergysources , nuclearenergy isoneoftheleastcarbonintensivesourcesofenergy.Thisargumentisoften usedbyproponentsofnuclearenergyinrelationtoachievingclimatechange objectivesatcurrentlevelsofenergyconsumption. Despitetherecentdeclarationsofintentby many Europeancountriesto undertakenewnuclearprojects , somescepticismexistsonarealboosttonuclear powergenerationin Europe.Without massiveinvestmentstoreplaceageing
Konferenzband
China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
Entstehung
Einzelbild herunterladen
verfügbare Breiten