Most CEE countries already use nuclear power but Poland still does not
19:39
The Czech Republic, which will take over the EU presidency in July, is one of the leading advocates of the increasing role of nuclear power in the European energy mix. Moreover, for the first time, nuclear power as an alternative to Russian raw materials was mentioned by the European Commission. Meanwhile, Poland, as ESPON program experts remind us, is one of the few countries in Central Europe which do not use this energy source.
“Some regions, such as southern Germany or Austria, are already highly specialized in using renewable energy sources, while others, primarily in the east, rely mainly on fossil fuels. Even in countries that are economically close to the >>old 15<<, such as Slovenia and the Czech Republic, the total energy from RES remains at a low level, failing to meet the needs of both consumers and industry,” ESPON study revealed.
Possibly, the poorer, eastern Central European countries will be able to achieve climate neutrality through investments in nuclear energy. Its biggest advocate in the EU, next to France, is the Czech Republic, which will assume the EU presidency in July 2022.
“Decarbonization of the Polish economy still poses a huge challenge. The country does not have many rivers on which hydropower plants could be built. While the Baltic Sea fosters the development of offshore wind energy in the northern regions of the country, it is, in fact, in the south where the most energy-intensive areas are located. In addition, Poland does not have a nuclear power plant, unlike other EU countries from the former Eastern Bloc,” ESPON experts concluded.
