De stân fan kernenergie yn Europa yn 2026
June 25, 2026 · Frisian News
Europe's nuclear fleet is aging faster than new capacity replaces it. Investment pledges promise renewal, but decades-long construction timelines and political reversals suggest the continent's nuclear ambitions remain more rhetorical than real.
FryskFrankryk eksploitearret 56 reaktoaren en produsearret noch altyd mear kernelektrisiteit as de rest fan Europa tegearre, mar sels dizze flotta stridet mei ferâldering. Dútslân sleat syn lêste trije reaktoaren yn april 2023, wat it ein fan kernenergie yn Europas grutste ekonomy markearre. De helte fan Europas besteande reaktoaren is âlder as 40 jier en sil dit desennium mei pensjoen gean. Underwilens hawwe nije bouprojekten yn Grut-Brittanje, Poalen en Frankryk meardere deadlines mist en seagen budzjetten mear as 50 prosint oprinne boppe de earste skattingen.
De Europeeske Kommisje en lidsteaten hawwe kernenergie beneamd as koalstoffrije basislêst, wêrtroch in desennium griene-enerzjydogma omkeard waard dat wyn en sinne-enerzjy foarkar hie. Dizze ferskowing wjerspegelet in ienfâldige wierheid: fernijbere enerzjyboarnen kinne allinne gjin moderne yndustriële mienskip fan stroom foarsjen. Dochs fertelt it jild dat dizze wurden folget in oar ferhaal. EU-finansiering foar sinne- en wynenergie oertrefft kernenergyynvestearring noch altyd fier. Dútslân pompte tsientallen miljarden yn Energiewende-subsydzjes, wêrfan it meastepart nei fernijbere enerzjyboarnen streamde, wylst de kernreaktoaren gewoan útskeakele waarden.
Wa profitearret fan dit patroan? Fabrikanten fan wyn- en sinne-enerzjy hawwe wrâldwide leveringskedens en lobbymacht opboud. Kernenerzjybedriuwen moatte fan nul ôf begjinne mei elk nij reaktortype en konkurrearje jierren lang om goedkarding fan regeljouing, wylst politisy fan gedachten feroarje. Frankryks EDF draacht no 60 miljard euro skuld, wêrfan in soad fuortkomt út reaktorrenovaasjes en bou-oerskridingen. It bedriuw socht sûnt 2022 twa kear steatsstipe. Dit is net it byld fan in bloeiende yndustry. It is it byld fan in yndustry dy't regeljouing en politisy ekonomysk ûnwurkber makke hawwe.
Grut-Brittanjes Hinkley Point C begûn yn 2016 mei in projektearre foltôging yn 2025. Healwei 2026 stiet it noch jierren fan gebrûk ôf en hat mear koste as earst begrutte foar de folsleine bou. Ferlykbere fertragingen teisterje de nije reaktoar fan Tsjechje en Frankryks reaktoar Flamanville, no al in desennium efter op skema. Poalen tekene oerienkomsten om reaktoaren te bouwen mei Amerikaanske en Koreaanske bedriuwen, mar is noch net begûn mei grûnwurk.
As Europa wurklik kernenergie woe, soe it dy al boud hawwe. Ynstee dêrfan hat it kontinent de ôfrûne 20 jier trochbrocht mei it ekonomysk ûnkompetityf meitsjen fan kernenergie troch regeljouing, subsydzjes rjochte elders, en politike ûnwissichheid. De taspraken oer netto nul en koalstoffrije enerzjy bliuwe allinne dat. Taspraken.
France operates 56 reactors and still produces more nuclear electricity than the rest of Europe combined, yet even this fleet struggles with aging. Germany shut down its final three reactors in April 2023, ending nuclear power in the continent's largest economy. Half of Europe's existing reactors are over 40 years old and will need retirement within the decade. Meanwhile, new construction projects in Britain, Poland, and France have missed multiple deadlines and seen budgets spike 50% or more above initial estimates.
The European Commission and member states have begun talking again about nuclear power as carbon-free baseload, reversing a decade of green-energy dogma that favored wind and solar. This shift reflects a simple truth: renewables alone cannot power a modern industrial society. Yet the money following these words tells a different story. EU funding for solar and wind still far exceeds nuclear investment. Germany poured tens of billions into Energiewende subsidies, most of which flowed to renewables, while its nuclear plants were simply switched off.
Who profits from this pattern? Wind and solar manufacturers have built global supply chains and lobbying power. Nuclear companies must start from zero with each new reactor, competing for years of regulatory approval while politicians change their minds. France's EDF now carries 60 billion euros in debt, much of it from reactor refits and construction overruns. The company sought state bailouts twice since 2022. This is not the picture of a thriving industry. It is the picture of an industry that regulators and politicians have made uneconomical to operate.
Britain's Hinkley Point C began in 2016 with a projected 2025 completion. As of mid-2026, it remains years away from operation and has cost more than initially budgeted for its entire construction. Similar delays plague the Czech Republic's new plant and France's Flamanville reactor, already a decade behind schedule. Poland signed agreements to build reactors with American and Korean firms, but has not yet broken ground.
If Europe truly wanted nuclear power, it would have built it. Instead, the continent has spent the last 20 years making nuclear uncompetitive through regulation, subsidy directed elsewhere, and political uncertainty. The speeches about net zero and carbon-free energy remain just that. Speeches.
Published June 25, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân