Government should start planning now to introduce nuclear power to the Republic, without committing to the technology’s use, says economist and former competition law enforcer John Fingleton.
Energy companies are developing smaller reactors that make nuclear power potentially viable for the Republic, where electricity demand is rising rapidly even as the State grapples with cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment should monitor these developments with a view to adopting the technology after it is tested in countries where it wins regulators’ approval, Fingleton argues.
The idea that the Republic would never consider adopting nuclear power “seems to me to be foolish”, Fingleton said after addressing the annual Energy & Infrastructure Summit run by law firm William Fry in Dublin.
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A former head of the Irish Competition Authority, Irishman Fingleton chairs the UK’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, which recently reported to that country’s government on challenges faced by the industry there.
He believes the Government here should consider using the new generation of reactors, particularly as a substitute for fossil fuels, but need not commit to their use immediately.
“Ireland is never going to be a first mover in any of this,” he conceded, “but what you want to be is an intelligent second mover.”
Unlike traditional technology, which needs plants capable of generating vast quantities of electricity, new systems require facilities similar to the average gas power plant found in the Republic.
Other versions allow for even smaller generators, which, grouped together in “fleets”, could prove ideal solutions for data centres and industrial estates, Fingleton suggested.
A law dating to the last century bans nuclear power here but the development of modular reactors has ignited debate on its repeal.
Nuclear energy does not emit carbon dioxide, while reactors last for 80 years, providing reliable electricity that can sit alongside intermittent wind and solar power. But building it can be expensive, running to around €145 for each megawatt hour that plants can produce in the UK, far more than for renewables or natural gas.
Fingleton noted that South Korea can build small modular plants for one sixth of this cost, while new technology offered various ways of cutting expenses, including “fleet” arrangements.
Safety was a key fear with nuclear’s use but the technology is a lot safer than perceived, according to Fingleton, while new generators are designed to stop reaction rapidly if anything happens.
When it comes to another challenge, the Republic has no legacy waste issue, unlike the UK. The much lower cost of waste handling is built into the new technology, Fingleton said.
Work on modular nuclear power is moving rapidly. Aerospace and defence giant Rolls-Royce is building new reactors in Wales.
There are up to 127 versions of the new systems, but Fingleton says some are “just PowerPoint presentations” while some are “actually being built”.
He stressed that whatever systems made it through the development phase offered new opportunities to the Republic.
“It’s difficult to see how you decarbonise completely without it,” he added.
Fingleton addressed the William Fry summit along with Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien, and took part in a discussion with broadcaster Ivan Yates.
