FollowIn a total defiance to what happened in Fukushima, and the negative reaction of Germany, Italy and Sweden to nuclear power, French president Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirms the country’s reliance on nuclear power by announcing the investment of a billion euros in this field.
“We are going to devote a billion euros to the nuclear programme of the future, particularly fourth-generation technology,” Sarkozy said at a news conference. “We are also going to release substantial resources from the big loan to strengthen research in the sphere of nuclear safety,” he added.
On the other side, France will also invest 1.35 billion euros in renewable energies, despite the fact that 80 percent of their grid juice comes from nuclear.
France's Belleville sur Loire nuclear power plant. Image (c) Guardian
Meanwhile, the nuclear plant at Fukushima is still leaking and people are still mourning for their lost ones. This is no reason for stopping for some, though. Each state knows its strengths and what it is relying on, and cannot make decisions that could jeopardize the national security.
Germany already has enough wind and solar power to sustain the loss of their nuclear arsenal, Sweden and Italy are also well developed. Although the numbers say renewables can’t yet sustain everything, by the time they’ll have dropped the idea of nuclear there will be enough wind turbines and solar panels to compensate for the loss. Time will tell.
Soruce: greenoptimistic
