euro|topics - A new debate on nuclear energy

02/12/2008

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Main focus of Friday, May 23, 2008

A new debate on nuclear energy

Debate on the use of nuclear energy has once more flared up in Europe. Italy now plans to build new nuclear power plants after a 20-year ban, while in Sweden a bomb scare in an accident-sensitive reactor has fears running high. What should Europe's energy policy look like in the future?

Corriere della Sera - Italy

"Never before has industry spoken out so clearly in favour of atomic energy. It will be interesting to see whether the discussion sparked off by the association's approval can finally distance itself from the old quarrels between industrialists and environmentalists. Times have changed. Nuclear energy offers the chance of continuing the process of globalisation while easing the pressure felt by Third World countries as a result of the rise in food prices. ... At the same time, it holds out the perspective of stabilising the price of raw materials in energy production, and of strengthening the negotiating position of Europe, which is increasingly feeling the political and economic squeeze of Russian gas supplies." (23/05/2008)

Dnevnik - Slovenia

Andrej Mrevlje writes in Dvennik newspaper about Italy's return to nuclear energy: "The announcement by Minister for Economic Development Claudio Scajola hit non-nuclear Italy like a bomb. ... Prodi's government had postponed inquiries into the construction of nuclear power plants ... because the fourth generation of nuclear plants was expected to be able to provide higher safety levels and less radioactive waste. ... Berlusconi's government is in a hurry. But the decision is not an easy one: while some are convinced that nuclear energy is the only solution for Italy, experts warn that uranium reserves are limited and that the construction of nuclear power stations will be an expensive and lengthy process. But the high costs will become irrelevant if the oil price reaches 200 dollars per barrel." (23/05/2008)

Der Standard - Austria

The uncovering of plans for a potential bomb attack on Sweden's Oskarshamn nuclear power station has triggered a debate about security at these plants: "This most recent incident has provoked a new discussion about nuclear security. The recent history of Swedish nuclear power plants reads like a series of disasters, bad luck and slip-ups. The incident at the Forsmark plant is regarded as the most serious so far: owing to an external short circuit the plant was cut off from the power supply and this led to the automatic rapid close-down of the reactor." (23/05/2008)

Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

The newspaper examines possible alternatives to nuclear energy: "New technologies ... should allow solar energy to achieve network parity by 2010. That means that electricity produced with solar energy should be no more expensive than conventional electricity from the wall socket. ... Until now, solar electricity has primarily asserted itself in Germany - for the time being with the aid of high subsidies. These have helped the booming solar sector to chalk up high profits and quick rises in share prices." (23/05/2008)

» To the complete press review of Friday, May 23, 2008

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