At the end of November, Climate and Energy Minister Jetten wants to announce possible locations where new nuclear power plants can be built. In the House of Representatives, he said he would still hold talks with interested regions.

In the coalition agreement, it was agreed that the government would provide five billion euros to enable the market parties to build two new nuclear power plants. The power plant in Borssele in Zeeland is to remain open longer.

Once the preferred locations are known, implementation of the plans can actually begin. That doesn’t mean that the power plants would actually be there, Jetten warned. A final decision will be made later and also depends on the funding of the projects.

Ultimately, it will be years before the power plants are ready. 2035 at the earliest, say many experts. The provinces of Zeeland and Brabant have already signaled their openness to the construction of new nuclear power plants.

war in Ukraine

Nuclear energy is back firmly on the political agenda, also because of the war in Ukraine and the shutting off of the gas tap in Groningen. The cabinet wants to be less dependent on Russian gas in the future, and nuclear energy can also help to achieve the CO2 targets. Unlike gas and coal-fired power plants, nuclear power plants do not emit any CO2.

Climate poster boy Greta Thunberg also says that Germany, which previously decided to phase out nuclear power altogether, would rather keep nuclear power plants open than go back to using coal for power generation.

Many parties in the House of Representatives are very positive about the construction of new power plants in the Netherlands. VVD, CDA, ChristenUnie, PVV, JA21 and Volt want construction to start as soon as possible. “Nuclear energy is needed more than ever,” argued VVD member Silvio Erkens. “It’s a constant, reliable form of energy that takes up little space.”

“They could have been there if the left-wing parties hadn’t been thwarted for years,” said Alexander Kops from the PVV. Proponents point out that nuclear energy produces electricity even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

In addition, scarce metals are needed for the construction of sustainable power generators such as windmills and solar panels: “These are mainly in Chinese hands,” says Pieter Grinwis from ChristenUnie.

Left-wing parties such as GroenLinks and PvdA are openly opposed to new nuclear power plants. According to Suzanne Kröger from GroenLinks, with maximum use of sustainable energy, there will be too little wind and sun for 80 hours a year. “You’re not going to build an expensive nuclear power plant to bridge this?”

Joris Thijssen from the PvdA referred to an ENCO report that was prepared at the request of the cabinet. This shows that new nuclear power plants cost a lot of public money, while sustainable energy is becoming cheaper and cheaper.

“We don’t need them and we can spend these five billion better on better insulating houses.” In his opinion, this also leads to sufficient CO2 gains. But supporters read the report very differently.

D66: no blank check

Of the governing parties, the D66, Minister Jetten’s party, is the most hesitant about its intentions. MP Raoul Boucke is particularly concerned about the costs. “I wonder if that five billion is enough. And if that actually increases, then I would like to know how much and how that compares to other methods, such as more wind at sea. The last thing I do is write a blank check. “

In the coming year, Minister Jetten wants to decide on the final financing of the new nuclear power plants and how much the government is willing to contribute.