European Commissioner for Energy, Gunther Oettinger, Thursday said the
European Union's goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and combat
climate change can only be reached with an energy mix including nuclear
power.
"Without a doubt nuclear energy belongs to the [mix]," Mr.
Oettinger said. "In coming years reaching [climate] goals can't be done
without nuclear power."
Mr. Oettinger's comments come as Europe faces serious economic
headwinds partly due to fast-rising electricity prices for industry and
retail consumers despite wholesale energy prices at record lows. This
is largely due to the mass rollout of renewable power generation using
technologies that are still unprofitable and require subsidies paid by
end-users.
Mr. Oettinger said that each EU country has the right to choose its power generation sources.
His comments were delivered at a nuclear power conference in
Prague and come as the Czechs are set this summer to choose a winner in a
$10 billion tender to build two nuclear reactors in the country.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, speaking at the conference,
said nuclear power is a "completely legitimate" source of power and can
play a role in the decarbonization of the European economy.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the use of nuclear energy is a sovereign decision for each country.
Slovakia is currently building two new reactors, which he said
will increase the country's energy independence and will act as a key
part of Slovakia's efforts to decarbonize the European economy.