After a 40 year prohibition on nuclear power in Danish energy planning, the government has begun a comprehensive analysis to examine and weigh the potential, possibilities, and risks of using nuclear power as a complement to solar and wind energy in Denmark’s future energy supply.
Minister of Climate and Energy Lars Aagaard (Moderaterne) shared this development on Wednesday when he was called in by the conservative opposition parties for an urgent inquiry into the introduction of nuclear power.
«We observe that new nuclear technologies are emerging – small modular reactors. The government has decided to institute an inquiry of the potential of these new nuclear technologies,» said Lars Aagaard, adding:
«But just having potential isn’t enough. We must also understand what it means for Danish society if we are to enable these technologies.»
The announcement slightly opens the door to breaking the prohibition against including nuclear power in Denmark’s energy supply – a prohibition that dates back to March 29, 1985. At that time, a majority opposition forced the conservative government under Poul Schlüter to «organize public energy planning on the assumption that nuclear power will not be used.»
Lars Aagaard asserts that the analysis does not imply a fundamental break with the current focus on renewable energy:
«We will continue the energy policy that we have pursued for many years in Denmark. Solar and wind are the cheapest and fastest routes to green transition. We will continue with that.»
He also categorically rules out traditional nuclear power plants, which Copenhagen residents have had a view of since the 1970s in the form of the Swedish Barsebäck plant across the Øresund. The small, new modular reactors have been described by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as reactors built in modules and transported to sites where power plants are needed.
«I don’t hear anyone suggesting that traditional nuclear power technology can play a role in the Danish energy system. It’s present in our neighboring countries, it’s fine, and they decide that. Nuclear power is also part of the European energy mix,» Lars Aagaard says.
A larger group of officials from various authorities will be asked to deliver the analysis, which the minister envisions will take about a year.
«The hope is that these new types of reactors can provide us with cheap, CO2-free energy that can be integrated into our energy system. But there’s also a very long list of safety, preparedness, and regulatory issues that need must be coped with,» says Lars Aagaard.
Prior to the government announcement, there was quite a topsy-turvy political process with various statements from the three government parties. On April 26, Venstre’s leader Troels Lund Poulsen opened the debate with a statement in Berlingske, saying «the time has now come for us to look at the issue of nuclear power differently than we have over the past 40 years.» Moderaterne had said something similar the day before.
Open eyes
Last week, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats) also announced that she would look at modern nuclear power with «open eyes,» and the government parties’ conclusion has been to initiate an analysis. This does not yet involve lifting the prohibition. According to Aagaard, many factors need to be investigated before such a step can be taken.
«The right wing in Denmark speaks enthusiastically about nuclear power as if it’s a plug-and-play solution, with no difficult choices involved in the process,» says the minister.
He lists several difficult considerations himself:
«What should we do with the waste, and where should it be stored in Denmark? What conditions should be set for those who want to introduce these technologies? They must also clean up after themselves. There’s also a big question about putting ourselves in a new vulnerable security situation. And where should the fuel come from? Today, Russia is a key supplier to nuclear power plants.»
With uranium?
«Yes, even new reactors need fuel. Where should it come from, and does it create a new dependency? And what would it take for our safety and health authorities to handle the task if we were to build such facilities in Denmark? And what about preparedness if something goes wrong? What state resources would it require? I can say with certainty that it would require a significant increase in the number of state employees to handle the entire safety situation.»
Do you have an estimate for that?
«No, the analysis will have to show that, and it’s crucial that we need to know. Denmark has not updated its legislation on nuclear power in – I don’t know how many years. I have a document stating that the Health Authority and the Emergency Management Agency assess that the current legal framework from 1962 is not up to date. I don’t think that comes as a massive surprise,» says Lars Aagaard.
He also mentions that Danish legislation is not aligned with international regulations.
«We have not spent time incorporating the International Atomic Energy Agency’s conventions and guidelines into Danish legislation because it wasn’t an option. So there’s also an entire legislative process involved.»
Because we haven’t dealt with it for 40 years?
«Exactly. Therefore, it’s easy to say: ’Hey, let’s lift the ban.’ In reality, it’s not taken seriously enough if we can’t answer all the difficult questions that follow if someone wants to build it,» says Lars Aagaard.
The blue parties (right-wing) in Folketinget, the Danish parliament, have been pushing Venstre to lift the nuclear power ban. In early May, Liberal Alliance (LA), Danmarksdemokraterne (DD), Dansk Folkeparti (DF), and Konservative (C) announced an urgent inquiry to clarify what initiatives the government will take to ensure that energy planning is based on «current assessments of all relevant technologies’ suitability.» Additionally, the government, with Aagaard as the minister responsible for the subject, must answer whether it will «work to lift the ban on nuclear power in Danish energy planning.»
Cornerstone
Ahead of the same parliamentary debate, the government parties have drafted a text emphasizing that green electricity from solar and wind will continue to be the cornerstone of Danish energy supply and that conventional nuclear power is not considered relevant in Denmark. A draft from Tuesday, obtained by Politiken, states:
«Folketinget notes that the government is launching an analysis to explore the potential and risks of new nuclear power technologies and various consequences of adjusting or lifting the ban on nuclear power.»
Back in 1985, Socialdemokraterne (S), Radikale Venstre (R), and Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) were among the driving forces behind the ban, which, according to the then S-spokesperson Jytte Hilden, also meant that nuclear power should not even be researched.
Today, energy spokesperson Jesper Petersen (S) states that the party has noted the new nuclear technologies as «very interesting.»
«But we don’t yet know what they would be capable of and whether they would be relevant in Denmark. We need to analyze what it would require of us as a society and as administrative authorities if the ban is to be lifted,» he said.
Leader of Radikale Venstre Martin Lidegaard (R) supports the text but emphasizes the fact that «solar and wind continue to be the cornerstone of Danish energy policy.»
«That’s what we’re focusing on, what we’re investing in and researching. I don’t think an analysis will change that. But we’re willing to conduct the analysis. Also to disprove many myths about nuclear power in Danish energy policy,» said Lidegaard.
LA’s energy spokesperson Steffen Frølund points out that the proposal resembles the Niels Bohr Commission that LA has suggested. And that it sounds like the government intends to include nuclear power in energy planning.
«The ban on including it in energy planning seems to have ended, and we’re pleased with that,» said Frølund.
Delays and cost overruns
In an electric system dominated by solar and wind, supplementary energy sources are needed to adjust production during periods when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. Aagaard points out that there will still be a need for power plants as a supplement to solar and wind for the foreseeable future:
«Readers should think of traditional nuclear power plants as huge mutherfucker of an oceangoing steamers. They’re not suitable for quickly speeding up or slowing down or turning right or left within a short distance. So there’s a need for something that can operate much more flexibly. One of the things we need to examine is the expectations for the new technologies. Can we envision them being commercially and physically compatible with an energy system based on solar and wind?»
He doesn’t dare to predict whether nuclear power will be part of Denmark’s energy supply in 2040 or 2045 but unequivocally answers yes that the decision in 1985 was right for Denmark because it led to Denmark becoming a wind energy country.
Isn’t there an element of procrastination in this analysis? Couldn’t you easily have asked some officials to conduct this analysis long ago?
«One can always argue that sensible things should have been done earlier in life. But it doesn’t work that way. The new reactors aren’t ready yet. We’re talking about technologies that won’t be ready until the early 2030s at the earliest, and I’ve been in the energy field long enough to know that what’s promis – also from the nuclear industry – tends to be delayed and more expensive,» said Aagaard.
