The age of commercial nuclear power dates to the mid-1950s, with the first nuclear power plant connected to an electric grid at Obninsk in the USSR. By the turn of the century, nuclear power accounted for about one-fourth of the total
. Nevertheless, both
and its contribution to the power mix have declined over the past two decades. Despite the urgency to replace fossil fuels with clean energy sources, public policy regarding nuclear power in the region varies greatly by country, on account of the significant inherent risks like long-term storage of radioactive waste and the potential for devastating accidents.
Diverging nuclear energy policies in Europe
The prominent role of nuclear energy in Europe was strongly questioned by many governments following the nuclear disasters that took place in Chernobyl, Ukraine, and Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, in April 1986 and March 2011, respectively. In a bold response, Italy and Lithuania shut down their operational reactors between 1990 and 2009. As of the end of 2021, other six
European countries were planning to limit the expansion of nuclear energy. Germany decided to abandon its nuclear energy program entirely, and eventually
phased out nuclear energy in April 2023. However, many European nations still derive a significant
share of their domestic electricity generation from nuclear energy. For example, France relies on nuclear power for over 60 percent of its electricity generation. This country has the second-highest number of
operable nuclear reactors worldwide and an additional reactor under construction. Other countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, and Belgium also source more than 45 percent of their electricity from nuclear sources.
An uncertain future for nuclear power in Europe
While some of the
largest nuclear power reactors under construction worldwide were located in Europe as of May 2023, the future of nuclear power on the continent is uncertain. Only Turkey, Russia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, France, and Slovakia had one or more
reactors under construction that year.
Nuclear power consumption in the European Union is forecast to decrease in various scenarios over the next few decades, as countries continue their phase-out and the
operational lifetime of existing reactors comes to an end. This trajectory is not set in stone, however. As countries strive to reach their target of net-zero emissions by 2050 and to emancipate themselves from fossil energy sources after the energy crisis in 2022, nuclear power may play a pivotal role in European energy policy in the years to come.
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