Security of Energy Supply
Last Updated on Monday, 29 August 2011 15:38 | 
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Background
The European Union (EU)'s energy import dependency is currently 53.1% and will grow significantly in the future; moreover, fossil fuel reserves are concentrated in a few countries and are depleting. Within the context of the recent gas crisis and of fossil fuel prices’ fluctuation, the EU institutions officially consider the issue of security of energy supply as a top priority. The issue is all the more significant in view of achieving the EU’s CO2 emission reduction target. Thus, FORATOM gives a great consideration to the issue and in particular to the role of nuclear power in enhancing it.
Latest Developments
In January 2007, the European Commission published its first Strategic European Energy Review called “An Energy Policy for Europe”, a comprehensive package of measures to establish an EU energy policy, to combat climate change and boost the EU's energy security and competitiveness. It proposed concrete targets and objectives for the EU, to achieve a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, to improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 and to raise the share of renewable energy by 20% by the year 2020. The Nuclear Illustrative Programme – PINC, which formed part of the energy policy package, acknowledged the role that nuclear energy, as the largest low-carbon energy source in Europe, plays in enhancing the EU’s security of supply and in mitigating climate change.
In March 2007, the European Council approved the Energy Policy for Europe and proposed three main objectives for the new policy: increasing security of energy supply, ensuring competitiveness of European economies and availability of affordable energy, and promoting environmental sustainability and combating climate change. With regard to nuclear power, the March 2007 Council concluded that nuclear energy is an important part of the EU’s energy mix and recommended that the opportunities and risks of nuclear power be widely discussed among all stakeholders in an open and transparent debate.
In November 2007, the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) was launched in the Slovak Republic’s capital, Bratislava. The aim of the Forum is to promote a constructive and transparent dialogue and encourage a forward-looking analysis of key issues relating to the future of nuclear energy in those EU Member States that wish to maintain and expand this energy option.
On 13 November 2008, the European Commission (EC) published its second Strategic Energy Review (SER II) and an updated version of the PINC (Illustrative Nuclear Programme). The SER II and PINC documents outline the progress achieved so far in mapping out the future of nuclear energy as a key component of the EU’s future low-carbon energy policy. Among the main messages to emerge, in particular from the publication of the updated PINC –- was the need for a comprehensive investment programme in nuclear energy. The communication called for a “balance between market investment decisions and regulation” and stressed that if strategic investment in nuclear and renewables are “taken rapidly, nearly two thirds of the EU’s electricity generation could be low-carbon by in the early 2020’s.”
The European Commission (EC) published on 10 November 2010 its proposed action plan on energy entitled, Energy 2020- A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy that defines the energy priorities for the next ten years. On 28 February 2011, the Energy Council adopted its conclusions on the ten-year Energy plan. The conclusions reiterated the position that the Head of States agreed upon during the Energy summit of 4 February 2011 calling for the completion of an integrated energy market, increased efficiency, secured energy supply and more investments in research and innovation.
From December 2010 until March 2011, a public consultation was held on An Energy Roadmap 2050 that should be published by the European Commission in autumn 2011. The Energy 2050 Roadmap should outline ways to meet the European Council’s target of an 80-95% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2050 in the sector. It should focus on how to achieve a low-carbon energy system while improving energy security and competitiveness. On 15 June, FORATOM published its contribution to the European Union (EU)’s Energy Roadmap 2050. FORATOM’s report outlines how nuclear energy will contribute significantly to the goal of achieving the low-carbon energy system by 2050.
These documents clearly recognise the key contribution that nuclear energy makes to the achievement of the EU's security of supply, climate change and competitiveness goals. They also highlight how nuclear energy is and will remain an important component of the EU's energy mix.
FORATOM Security of Energy Supply Task Force
The purpose of the Security of Supply Task Force (SoES.TF) is to conduct an in-depth reflection about how nuclear energy contributes and will further contribute to the security of energy supply in the EU, and to promote among the EU institutions the concept that the European nuclear industry is able to be a significant contributor to the goal of increasing the share of low-carbon electricity.
FORATOM stresses that the 900 TWh annually produced by the European nuclear installations can be regarded as an indigenous source of energy and that nuclear energy has to play a key role in the long-term EU energy mix, security of supply being granted by uranium available from wide range of sources in politically stable countries: enough uranium resources are available to support significant expansion of nuclear energy.
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