Some members of the European Union are reportedly signaling support for nuclear energy for the first time ahead of the United Nations climate change conference next month, illustrating the growing support for the power source.
Several ministers from multiple Eastern European countries and France were expected to publish a paper on Tuesday backing nuclear energy, saying it plays a “pivotal role,” according to a new report from the Financial Times.
The countries are expected to call on the EU to ensure that nuclear power is “duly integrated” into new proposals” for energy regulation as the member states prepare to travel to Azerbaijan for the COP29 summit.
The paper comes one day after EU climate ministers agreed on the bloc’s negotiating position ahead of the climate conference, where they will discuss new climate financing targets.
Support for nuclear power was seen further in the West as the Dutch government reportedly signed an agreement with France to increase cooperation on nuclear power, according to the report. The two governments also agreed to back “institutional support” for the energy source.
The public support from the environmental ministers signals a major step toward accepting nuclear power in Europe as many nations in the region have prioritized renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind.
However, many are hesitant to push nuclear power to the forefront of energy conversations. Austria’s climate minister Leonore Gewessler told the news outlet that “nuclear has been kept alive by enormous amounts of public money without having an economically viable business model, while at the same time we see renewables costs decrease enormously.”
“Let’s put money where the most cost-efficient solution is — and that’s renewables,” Gewessler continued.
Other European officials have suggested that the contentious nuclear debate is also detracting from efforts to build support for phasing out fossil fuels.
The EU has appeared more open to accepting nuclear energy in recent months as the first Nuclear Energy Summit was held in Brussels in March.
Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera indicated last month that she would not oppose an expansion of nuclear energy in Europe, saying that “there has been … great respect [given] to every different decision that each member state has taken into consideration when defining their electricity systems and their different options.” Just days later, Sweden’s energy minister Ebba Busch said the EU “must not stand in the way of nuclear power.”
Calls to support, or remove barriers for, nuclear energy come as major technology companies also have begun to embrace the power source to back large data centers key for artificial intelligence developments.
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On Monday, Google became the third major company to announce an agreement to purchase nuclear energy for its data centers, partnering with Kairos Power. Unlike past agreements, this was the first corporate deal that involves purchasing nuclear power from multiple small modular reactors. The first reactor is expected to come online by 2030, though it remains unclear where the SMRs will be built.
Both Amazon and Microsoft are pursuing nuclear energy in Pennsylvania, with Jeff Bezos’s company entering an agreement with Talen Energy to purchase the Susquehanna nuclear plant, which is expected to provide up to 960 megawatts of power. Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking to buy energy from Constellation Energy by restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.