Mitsotakis: Greece turns a new page in the use of nuclear energy

The prime minister stated that our country will examine whether nuclear energy, and especially small modular reactors, can play a role, announcing an interministerial committee.

Greece will explore the use of nuclear energy, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said while speaking at the 2nd Summit on Nuclear Energy in Paris, convened by French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Unfortunately, Europe turned its face away from nuclear energy and this was a strategic mistake,” Mr Mitsotakis argued. He cited that all the solar panels that have been installed over the last 20 years were not able to restore the loss of nuclear energy in terms of energy production.

“However, things are changing. Nuclear energy is rebounding. Countries that had abandoned nuclear energy are reconsidering their stance”, he continued and added:
“Greece is turning a page. The time has come for my country to explore whether nuclear energy and especially small modular reactors can play a role”.

He also announced the establishment of an interministerial committee for the utilization of small urban nuclear energy.

Mr Mitsotakis expressed the view that nuclear energy is changing rapidly as technological progress advances. He also noted that the needs for electricity will only increase, therefore he argued that “no matter how much we expand Renewable Energy Sources, we will always need nuclear energy as well.”

He acknowledged that nuclear energy “has challenges” and that public opinion in Greece, as in Europe, is divided. But he argued that “we must have an honest discussion, a non-ideological dialogue.”

He also expressed the view that the use of nuclear energy should become a subject of discussion in the shipping sector as well, with the argument that this technology has been used in warships for decades. Meanwhile, a reliable solution for independence from hydrocarbons in maritime transport has not yet been found.

“We are ready to write a new chapter. Think, friends, that Greece will play a role in nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is part of the solution,” Mr Mitsotakis concluded.