Eirgrid chief says role for nuclear energy deserves 'deep interrogation'
Eirgrid chief executive Mark Foley said he thinks the possibility of nuclear energy reactors in Ireland should be explored.
A potential role for nuclear energy in Ireland deserves "deep interrogation" in the quest for a carbon-neutral power system, Eirgrid's chief executive has said.
The calls for an exploration into potential small nuclear reactors in Ireland have grown in recent years but Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has poured cold water on the possibility, saying it would be too expensive and cumbersome.
However, Eirgrid chief executive Mark Foley said he thinks the possibility should be explored.
Tweeting in a personal capacity, Mr Foley said people "keep asking" him about nuclear power.
"I believe, in the context of our ambition for a net-zero carbon power system, we are obliged to look dispassionately at all options for same, including a deep interrogation of the potential role for nuclear energy," he tweeted.
During an interview with the last year, the Environment Minister all but ruled out the possibility.
Mr Ryan said he had "never met someone who came to me and said I’d like to build a nuclear facility in Ireland, even the smaller reactors".
"They’re on a design table somewhere, they are not there in reality. If we have a choice between putting our money into offshore wind where we know it’s going to grow, and is cheaper, or we put it into nuclear which is more expensive, less suited to the Irish system, where we don’t have comparative advantages or we don’t have any experts, I just don’t see it happening at the moment," he said.
Nuclear power lobby group 18for0 has repeatedly said that ruling out the possibility even before exploring it as an option is folly.
In response to the Eirgrid chief, the group called for research into nuclear power possibilities in Ireland.
"Whether or not we build nuclear isn't really the point, but doing studies would demonstrate a sound decision-making process," 18for0 said.
According to the European Commission's data analysis wing Eurostat, nuclear plants generated around 25% of the total electricity produced in the EU in 2021.
Some 13 EU countries have operational nuclear reactors.
The production of nuclear heat is obtained from the fission of nuclear fuels in nuclear reactors and this heat is subsequently used for the production of electricity, it said.
