Greece will examine the prospect of adding nuclear power in its existing energy mix, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday, as EU leaders scramble to tackle soaring energy prices due to the war in Iran.
“It is time for my country to explore whether nuclear energy and specifically small modular reactors can play a role in the Greek energy system,” he said in a speech at an event on nuclear energy held in Paris.
“This is a common sense position. Nuclear energy is changing quickly, there are rapid advances in technology. There is tremendous innovation. And we know that our need for electricity is only going to grow. So no matter how much we expand renewables, we will need long-term predictable base load power. And no technology can match what nuclear can offer us,” he told the World Nuclear Energy Summit.
Mitsotakis acknowledged that any plan to develop nuclear energy units in Greece would likely face backlash. “We know that nuclear power presents challenges. Public opinion in Greece, as in other countries, is still divided. But I think we need to have an honest, thoughtful, non-ideological dialogue,” he said.