A new study published yesterday by the New Nuclear Watch Institute (NNWI) finds that the "supposed dependency concerns" associated with the host-vendor relationship in the nuclear energy sector are "historically and practically unfounded". The report - Energy Security in the Age of Net-Zero Ambitions and the System Value of Nuclear Power - focuses on the issue of energy security and the important contributions that nuclear power can make towards maintaining and strengthening it as energy systems decarbonise, both along the various transition pathways that energy systems have started upon and at their eventual low-carbon endpoint.
The report says that, contrary to some media and political narrative, the risks to energy security arising from the involvement of non-OECD nuclear vendors at each stage of the plant’s lifecycle, from before construction through operation to decommissioning, "are of a low degree, manageable and can be mitigated through prudent regulatory measures".
Unveiling the report, NNWI Chairman Tim Yeo said: "Climate change is now an existential threat to the human species. To overcome this challenge, governments around the world must set aside geopolitical considerations at once and unite to deploy all available low-carbon technologies."
