New EU renewable energy target faces nuclear roadblock

By Kate Abnett

European Union plans for a new renewable energy goal hit early resistance on Monday from pro-nuclear governments, who indicated they would not back a goal that excludes atomic energy.

The EU's 27 member countries have opposing views on nuclear power, and political disputes over the energy source have delayed recent EU measures to address high energy prices and drive Europe's transition to low-carbon energy sources.

While nuclear power stations do not emit carbon dioxide, they generate toxic waste that some governments and campaigners say means atomic energy should not be classed as green.

Plans to set an EU renewable energy target for 2040 have stirred tensions again, after the European Commission this month made the goal a surprise addition to the brief of new EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen.

French energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said ministers had expressed concern to Jorgensen that the target excluded nuclear energy, at a meeting in Brussels of 15 countries, 12 of them part of a pro-nuclear alliance.

"Is it more important to have a specific target for renewables ... where you can tamper with statistics, for example, by closing down nuclear power plants? Or is the main target fossil-free and clean energy production in Europe?" said Sweden's energy minister Ebba Busch, who also attended the pro-nuclear meeting.

A senior official from one EU country said governments with enough votes to block the EU from passing the target had indicated they wouldn't back a goal that excludes nuclear.

"I think there's enough, in terms of a blocking minority," the official said.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen held firm. Renewables and nuclear will both play a role in Europe's energy policy, but they should not be mixed into one target, Jorgensen said.

"I don't think that would be a wise way to do it, I think we need to maintain the definitions that we already have in our renewable target," he told a news conference.

Countries including Austria and Germany have opposed nuclear's inclusion in previous EU renewable energy goals, raising concerns about nuclear safety and emphasising the lower costs of wind and solar power.

Austria is firmly opposed to the technology, while Germany phased out its nuclear reactors.

Meanwhile, France, which gets most of its power from nuclear reactors, and eastern European countries planning to expand their reactors, are strong proponents of low-carbon atomic energy as a way to cut emissions.