Page 21 - bne IntelliNews 26th May

Opinion
May 26, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
option but to add new nuclear capacity to the use of renewables.”
Dr Stephen Lechner, head of EU nuclear agency Euratom, suggested Kovacovska and her peers need to do more to promote nuclear as an envi- ronmental saviour. “The European Commission feels member states have an issue with commu- nicating with the public on nuclear,” he claimed.
That’s a strange point in Central Europe, where public support for nuclear is strong. Activists complain that nuclear is a “religion”, a situation they suggest is a hangover from communism. Government and big business maintain their grip on sectors like energy, so the theory goes, and push the nuclear agenda hard as they enjoy large and complex projects that send cash washing through the system.
Indeed, if the nuclear lobby is to be believed, even the environment would likely vote for more nucle- ar if it go the chance. The panel’s eyes lit up when one member of the audience offered them a tasty soundbite: “The climate doesn’t care how power is produced, but how much CO2 is emitted.”
Political leaders in the region are certainly con- vinced. On top of the Czech and Hungarian efforts, Poland is seeking a route to finally get a project
to build its first nuclear plant up and running. Slovakia is the only member of Visegrad currently building, with two new units at the Mochovce plant due to launch operations by the end of the decade.
Despite long delays and a budget that has more than doubled to €5.4bn, Bratislava remains com- mitted to nuclear power, Prime Minister Robert Fico said at the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) the same day. “We would hardly be able to achieve any ambitious goals if we produced elec- tricity only by combusting gas and brown coal,” he said, according to TASR.
In fact, Slovak Economy Minister Peter Ziga noted that a project to build another new block at the Jaslovske Bohunice plant – CEZ is a partner in
the plan after failing to sell its share to Russia’s Rosatom – is already prepared in principle. How- ever, the weak power markets remain an issue. “We’re waiting for better times when the prices on the power energy market are a bit higher,” the minister admitted.
While there is no little debate over the exact fig- ure, new nuclear projects currently need to sell output at a level of at least €70 per MWh or so to make financial sense. Prices have sat closer to €30 in recent years.
Kovacovska identified another issue, likely with CEZ minority shareholders in mind, as they have expressed strong opposition to government pres- sure for the company to build new units without any state support schemes. “There’s no trust in the market,” she asserted. “That’s due to state interventions and a lack of belief in political com- mitment to decarbonsiation.”
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