Header image courtesy of Total Energies
Researchers from the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have concluded that renewable energy is more profitable than nuclear energy, especially in the US and the EU, as reported by PV Magazine.
Renewable energy has the upper hand in terms of cost and speed. The research found that nuclear plant investments delay decarbonization. It studied nuclear energy developments in the planning stages and concluded the amounts by which the project costs have increased from the initial plan are significant.
The nuclear projects considered include Flammanville, which jumped from €3.3 billion to €13.2 billion. This did not account for the increase in financing costs, which could add another €4.2 billion, up from €1.2 billion.
The researchers said that even though nuclear energy is presented as a good investment in the fight against climate change, renewable energies compete with it in terms of profitability even more than other energy sources such as coal and gas. The research concludes that nuclear power plants require many years of planning and construction and are capital-intensive. However, the climate crisis demands urgency and requires large investments, making profitability paramount.
Renewable Brief 