In the middle of an energy affordability crisis – and possibly an energy supply crunch if the US/Israel war on Iran does not end soon – talk of nuclear power is a waste of precious time and political bandwidth. Yet the subject keeps rearing its head. The latest intervention came from Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor, who announced that he would be proposing legislation to remove the ban on nuclear generation in the Irish energy system (although the Bill has not yet been formally published).
While the debate will be useful in dusting off some old arguments, it will not generate a single electron of clean energy. It will not displace a single molecule of fossil gas. It is more likely to generate a lot of hot air. Arguments will be marshalled in favour of small modular reactors (SMRs); we’ll be told about the advantages of stable baseload on the grid and the enviable lower cost of electricity in France. We’ll hear lots about energy security. It will create the appearance of politicians leading from the front, when they are artfully practising avoidance and delay.
I have argued before that there are myriad reasons why nuclear power is not a good option for Ireland, as have others who know a lot more about the topic than me. There’s little serious analysis of the case for nuclear power in Ireland as part of energy and climate policy. None of the utilities believes SMR technology is mature enough for Ireland to take a gamble on it. The ESB’s 2025 Emerging Technology Insights report regards it as an unproven technology at present. At best, SMRs will be a mature technology in about 15 or 20 years. But at that point weshould be producing more offshore wind than we can realistically use, and we will likely be net exporters of electricity.
The truth is that renewable energy and electrotech is surpassing the expectations of even the most optimistic analysts. The cost of solar and wind continues to plummet to new lows, outcompeting fossil fuels in most cases
Peer-reviewed studies find that least-cost energy system pathways to net zero are consistently dominated by renewable energy-based portfolios complemented by storage, demand response and existing dispatchable assets. That is the kind of grid that our energy planners are working towards, and huge progress has been made. Nuclear energy is expected to play a role – but not the dominant one – as the world moves away from fossil fuels in response to the climate crisis, and only in very system-specific contexts. This is not my opinion; it is the opinion of the International Energy Agency.
The truth is that renewable energy and electrotech is surpassing the expectations of even the most optimistic analysts. The cost of solar and wind continues to plummet to new lows, outcompeting fossil fuels in most cases. While France does boast cheaper electricity prices, this is because its 50-year-old nuclear fleet has finally been paid for. Delays, high capital costs and overruns mean new reactors such as Hinkley Point C will generate some of the most expensive electricity in the world when they finally come on stream.
We could debate these facts. But there is something about this latest call for nuclear power that is entirely resistant to facts. There is a persistent feature of Irish politics which is not about embracing bold new ideas so much as sitting on the fence. It may not get said aloud, but many elected representatives from rural constituencies seem to feel they cannot support renewables because of local opposition to onshore wind and solar farms. Nor can they speak out against renewable energy because it is Government policy and because it makes good policy sense. They are caught in a bind: alienate their constituents or vote against the Government. So instead of exercising some real leadership, they obfuscate and change the subject.
Renewable energy already works to deliver low-cost clean energy from indigenous resources and surely has all the elements that the party which rolled out rural electrification would support. But Fianna Fáil TDs simply cannot find their way to leading public opinion, so they take refuge in lofty targets and distant technologies, hoping that none of it will materialise on their own turf.
Any politician really concerned about the climate crisis could demand the urgent publication of the long-awaited 2026 Climate Action Plan, and measures to ramp up rooftop solar to counter rising domestic electricity prices. They could insist on a pause in new data centres, since these are the main reasons for Ireland’s extraordinarily high electricity prices. Fans of nuclear energy could advocate for the speedy construction of the Celtic interconnector to France, and more projects like it.
Why don’t we have a citizen’s assembly about the energy system and the potential role of nuclear energy? Presenting all the relevant facts and arguments and interrogating them fully would be a useful exercise and could build public confidence in renewables as the backbone of our energy system. But debating the role of nuclear energy should not be used as an excuse to delay doing what is already necessary, cost-effective and fossil-free.
Sadhbh O’ Neill is a climate and environmental researcher
