Caught between the energy crisis and climate goals, several countries, including Japan, Germany and Belgium, have renewed interest in nuclear power and are moving aggressively to adjust their policies, either by keeping existing reactors longer or building new ones sooner.  

But experts point out that the development of nuclear power also faces the risk of catastrophic accidents and the unsolved problem of nuclear waste, and the long construction period of nuclear power plants, there are problems that "distant water cannot quench the thirst of the near".  

Japan may build new nuclear power plant  

Eleven years after the Fukushima disaster, which severely hampered the development of nuclear power, the tide is shifting in Japan, foreign media reported.  

The Japanese government is considering building "a new generation of reactors with new safety mechanisms" in the future, both to become carbon neutral and to cope with soaring electricity and gas prices that have affected Japan since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, CNN reported.  Japan has now set a target of generating 20-22% of its electricity from nuclear power by 2030.  

Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, said the country is considering restarting and extending the life of some nuclear plants, which may be able to generate electricity for another 20 years on top of their 40-year life span if they undergo upgrades and pass safety checks by regulators.  

The government's latest move is a step back for a country that generated less than 4 percent of its electricity from nuclear power last year, as 54 reactors provided 30 percent of Japan's electricity before 2011.  Japan has been scaling back its use of nuclear power since a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that sent seawater crashing into the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011, triggering the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.  

As of July 26, Japan had seven nuclear reactors in operation and three more under maintenance, according to Japan's Natural Resources and Energy Agency.  

European countries adjust nuclear policy  

In the current energy crisis and Russia-Ukraine conflict, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and other countries have also begun to actively adjust their nuclear power policies, or extend the service time of existing nuclear reactors, or build new reactors earlier.  

Belgium and Germany, for example, which had been moving away from nuclear power, changed their policies.  

Belgium has decided to delay its withdrawal from nuclear power by 10 years, Prime Minister Alexandre de Croix said in a statement, France 24 television reported.  Back in 2011, Belgium planned to completely exit nuclear power by 2025, Deutsche Welle reported.  Belgium currently has two nuclear power plants with a total of seven nuclear reactors.  

Germany, which is due to close its last three nuclear plants by the end of this year, broke a taboo when Robert Habeck, the economy and climate protection minister, argued back in February that a delay could be "justified" in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  Several of Germany's nuclear power plants could still be connected to the grid in 2023, Der Spiegel reported.  

The Netherlands plans to build two new nuclear power plants.  In December 2021, the Netherlands released a plan for a new coalition government until 2025, saying that the current government will build two new nuclear power plants and the existing Borselle nuclear power plant will also operate for a longer period of time with safety guarantees.  The Dutch government will provide 500 million euros of financial support for new nuclear power plants by 2025.  

The government is proposing to increase nuclear capacity from the current 7GW to 24GW by 2050, providing 25% of the country's electricity needs. It plans to add up to eight more reactors. It will also set up a £120m nuclear commissioning fund.  

France plans to add 25 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050.  According to Macron's campaign plan, France will adhere to the development and utilization of nuclear energy, including the completion of at least six third-generation nuclear reactors by 2050, the first new reactor is scheduled to start operation in 2028 and come into operation in 2035, and the construction of eight more nuclear reactors will be studied.  In addition, on the basis of ensuring safety, the service life of eligible existing nuclear power plants will be extended to more than 50 years, and 25 GW of new nuclear power capacity is expected to be installed in France by 2050.  

There are several constraints  

Currently, 32 countries generate 10% of the world's electricity from nuclear power.  In September 2021, the International Atomic Energy Agency raised its forecast for the first time since Fukushima: in a best-case scenario, the world's installed nuclear power capacity will double by 2050.  

Still, IPCC scientists acknowledge that "future nuclear deployment may be constrained by societal preferences", the risk of catastrophic accidents and the unresolved issue of nuclear waste will still divide public opinion.  

In addition, nuclear power projects are characterized by a long construction cycle, complicated approval and difficult construction technology, and the development of nuclear power means huge costs for research and development, construction and maintenance. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the nuclear power plans announced by various countries will finally be implemented.  

"People are talking about medium-term solutions," experts said. "The long construction cycle of nuclear power plants will not solve the problem of current and medium-term market tightness."