The rise of nuclear power in Europe and beyond shaping the energy debate

After the Iberian Peninsula suffered its largest blackout in decades last month, the focus on Europe’s renewable energy strategy has sharply intensified. This unprecedented power cut left millions without electricity and has reignited global interest in nuclear power as an answer to modern energy challenges. With the fallout still dominating headlines, political leaders and energy experts are beginning to reassess nuclear energy’s potential to ensure a stable, low-carbon energy future.

Questions have been raised about whether heavy reliance on renewable energy was partly to blame for the instability of Spain’s power grid. At the time of the outage, renewables accounted for around 70% of the grid’s energy mix. Critics claim that balancing the grid may have been difficult under such conditions. However, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, firmly rejected these assertions, stating in Parliament that the incident was unrelated to the absence of nuclear power within the system.

Despite the government’s stance, the blackout has amplified calls to reconsider the planned phase-out of Spain’s seven nuclear reactors by 2035. Prominent voices such as Ignacio Galán, chairman of the renewable energy company Iberdrola, have warned that completely abandoning nuclear infrastructure could lead to a dramatic rise in electricity prices and reduce the reliability of supply. Comparisons have been drawn to Germany, which fully terminated its nuclear programme in 2023. Since then, Germany has faced soaring energy costs and has recently seen its political leaders mull over whether nuclear technology, particularly small modular reactors (SMRs), could help revive its energy sector.

Globally, nuclear power has experienced renewed momentum as nations attempt to address surging electricity demand and meet low-carbon goals. Switzerland has overturned its 2018 ban on new nuclear projects to support the development of SMRs. Taiwan is preparing to vote on whether to reopen a reactor that was recently shut, spurred by energy security concerns linked to potential geopolitical tensions. The United States, too, is seeing a nuclear revival. The iconic Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania is set to restart, aiming to support the surging power demands of AI data centres, which require constant, reliable energy to operate efficiently.

With corporate giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta increasingly reliant on clean, round-the-clock electricity, demand for nuclear power is set to escalate. SMRs stand out as a promising solution due to their quicker build times and cost-effective modular designs. While initial construction of these reactors remains in its early stages – with Canada leading the West’s approval of its first mini-reactor – industry players are optimistic. The UK has also unveiled ambitious plans to use SMRs to power data infrastructure, with Labour leader Keir Starmer outlining a significant nuclear expansion by 2032.

Detractors remain vocal. Critics argue that the nuclear industry’s track record of cost overruns and delays makes SMRs an uncertain prospect. Environmental pressures surrounding the storage of nuclear waste persist as unresolved issues. Yet, with rising energy demands and evolving solutions in nuclear technology, the tide appears to be shifting in favour of nuclear power. This decade is shaping up to be pivotal for its resurgence in Europe and beyond.