GREENING THE ENERGY SOURCE
Many countries are racing to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by the middle of the century in line with their climate pledges. Globally, energy is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for about 25% of total GHG emissions Link. Therefore, reimagining the energy infrastructure and transitioning to low carbon sources is vital in achieving that objective.
But how much carbon does each energy source generate?
GHG emissions: Grams of CO2e/KWh of energy
It is evident that countries need to reduce high carbon-emitting energy sources such as Coal, Oil, and Gas, and substitute them with low carbon-emitting energy sources such as Solar, Wind, and Hydro, leading to an overall phasing out of high emissions sources over time.
NUCLEAR AND GAS INCLUSION IN EU TAXONOMY’S AMENDMENT
The European Commission’s first EU Taxonomy Complementary Delegated Act (CDA) was adopted on July 4, 2021. The taxonomy specifies technical screening criteria under which certain economic activities and energy sources qualify as:
a. Contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation, and
b. Do not cause significant harm (DCSH) to any of the other relevant environmental objectives
However, “nuclear energy” was not covered during the first CDA as more information was required to assess whether nuclear energy meets the criteria does no significant harm (DNSH) to “other” environmental objectives, considering waste management, impact on biodiversity, and water as well as potential pollution aspects.
For “gas”, although it was included in the first CDA, the Commission announced more reflection was needed to assess its role in the decarbonization of the economy.
Several public consultations were also held to assess their importance and environmental impacts. Specifically, for nuclear energy, the Technical Expert Group (TEG) of EU taxonomy has set up a Joint Research Commission (JRC) to assess the DNSH aspects of nuclear energy. The JRC’s recommendations were also reviewed by various other technical committees including Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) with additional observations.
Basis these observations, the EU commission’s latest CDA amendment brings “natural gas” and “nuclear projects” under the ambit of the EU Taxonomy.
The commission notes that in light of respective assessments "it is necessary to recognize that the fossil gas and nuclear energy sectors can contribute to the decarbonization of the Union's economy. Link
Subsequently, the Commission has rolled out technical screening criteria for natural gas and nuclear energy projects with detailed disclosure requirements applicable both for existing and newer power projects. Especially, for nuclear projects to be compliant with the EU taxonomy, the technical criteria require the projects to adhere to the highest standards of nuclear safety, radiation protection, and radioactive waste management. The emissions of nuclear power projects including “life-cycle emissions” should be under a certain threshold level (100g CO2e/KWh). The existing nuclear installations should be authorized by 2040 in accordance with applicable national laws. For gas projects, the last date for the construction to be taxonomy compliant is 31 December 2030.
Specifically, the inclusion of nuclear energy left many EU countries with widely differing positions. The EU countries such as the Czech Republic and France, which get more than half of their power from nuclear energy, see it as a crucial energy source in phasing out coal-based power. However, other countries, such as Austria and Germany are strongly against nuclear energy and are in the process of phasing out their nuclear power plants.
Nuclear Power Plants in Operation in Europe, February 2021
Surprisingly, the Commission has not released the proposed CDA for public consultation, stating that enough consultation has already taken place. However, any final plan can be blocked by a majority of member states or by the European Parliament.
NUCLEAR POWER: THE “GOOD”, “BAD” & “UGLY”
The Good: Nuclear power produces baseload electricity with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. They generate 95-99% lesser emissions compared to fossil fuels. Such baseload performance isn’t possible with existing solar or wind projects unless the storage solutions develop at a large scale.
The Bad: The half-life of nuclear waste generated by conventional uranium-based reactors is 50,000 years. To date, there are still no safe disposal sites for such uranium-based nuclear waste.
The Ugly: So far, nuclear accidents across the globe are relatively few but the grave after-effects are a cause for concern. The well-chronicled accidents including Fukushima Daiichi (2011, Japan), Chernobyl (Ukraine, 1986), Three Mile Island (1979, USA) provide a glimpse of these after-effects. Link
Looking beyond the carbon emissions benefits from nuclear fuel, the biodiversity impacts make it less clean compared to Solar and Wind.
The life cycle assessment table below shows the “other” impacts of nuclear on parameters such as ozone depletion, radiation, water depletion, which are significant and multiple times higher compared to the impacts of solar and wind.
The “other” environmental impacts of nuclear power generation
BUT ARE SAFER NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE?
Industry experts advocate that we need to stop using nuclear technologies developed in the 1950s. Accident-tolerant fuel for nuclear power plants which provides additional protection against accidents resulting from structural damages to fuel or reactor components has become available in the market.
Brief research shows that newer nuclear technologies are available such as Molten Salt Reactors, Thorium, Liquid Fluoride Thorium (LTFR), Pebble Reactor, etc.
The life cycle impact assessments show that Molten Salt reactors have 70% lesser environmental impacts compared to conventional Uranium reactors.
However, the economics of operation, radiation management, safety profile, at scale are still not widely available.
WHY IS GREEN LABELING OF NUCLEAR IS IMPORTANT?
Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner in charge of the internal market, has said the EU will need to invest EUR 500 billion in new generation nuclear power stations from now until 2050. Mr. Brenton emphasizes that these estimates are in addition to the existing nuclear plants, which will need EUR 50 billion of investment from now until 2030. Therefore, nuclear power’s labeling as green energy, even during the transitionary phase, in EU taxonomy is pivotal in attracting that capital.
So, power it up with different shades of green!!
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