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PM sells nuclear power at forum

Topolánek asks EU to recognize nukes as a low emissions source

By Michael Heitmann
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 28th, 2008 issue

Time is running out to tackle energy security in Europe, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek warned May 22.
Renewed interest in nuclear power as a solution to rising energy needs has come at “five minutes before midnight,” he told the European Union’s nuclear energy forum, which brought together a high-powered collection of government officials from across Europe to Prague for two days.
Topolánek urged the European Commission to “declare nuclear power a low-emissions energy source that is friendly to the environment.” By doing so, the EU could then set a goal to produce 60 percent of its energy from emissions free sources by 2030, he added.
Also giving support to nuclear energy was EU President José Manuel Barroso, who spoke May 23.
“Nuclear energy can make a major contribution to the battle against climate change, as it generates two-thirds of the EU’s carbon-free electricity,” he said.
The European Nuclear Energy Forum has come under fire from nongovernmental organizations. Greenpeace alleged the nuclear industry wants to push through weaker nuclear safety standards.
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs defended the forum’s role as a place for discussion and said that a resolution of the “outstanding issues” was crucial for public acceptance of nuclear energy.
Nuclear power already makes up a huge chunk of the Czech Republic’s energy assets. The plants at Temelín and Dukovany produced 26.1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in 2006, the last year for which data is available. While overall domestic consumption ran at 60.4 million kWh, an additional 24.1 million kWh went into export markets.
Renewable energy sources, like hydroelectric dams or biomass, contributed only 4.232 million kWh of electricity to the balance sheet.
Topolánek’s pro-nuclear stance is broadly in line with other European leaders such as Silvio Berlusconi and Nicolas Sarkozy. Berlusconi announced May 15 that the Italian government plans to resume building nuclear plants, two decades after a public referendum banned nuclear power.
The change of policy in many European countries reflects growing concern about skyrocketing oil prices and security of supply. Citing former Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, Topolánek said: “A real renaissance of nuclear [power] can happen 10 years from now, if we pluck up the courage to say that we need nuclear energy now and in the future. Without it, our freedom and our independence could be threatened.”
On May 25, a senior Russian diplomat rejected speculation that Moscow’s energy policy threatened the West. “I would even say this is untruthful talk, empty talk,” Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, told the Itar-Tass news agency.

Michael Heitmann can be reached at mheitmann@praguepost.com


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