Waiting for the Nuclear Renaissance: Exploring the Nexus of Expansion and Disposal in Europe

Darst, Robert G.; Dawson, Jane I.

doi:10.2202/1944-4079.1047

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The tragic events of March 2011 in Fukushima, Japan, shifted public concern to issues of safety, justice, and ethics (Butler, Parkhill, & Pidgeon, ) even while advances in used nuclear fuel (UNF) management practices, as exemplified by the cases in Sweden and Finland, hint at a technological and sociopolitical solution to the safe, permanent, and locally acceptable disposal of used high‐level radioactive nuclear materials. Such advances could arguably function to sustain nuclear energy as a plausible energy alternative in the United States (Darst & Dawson, ) but recent abandonment of the Yucca Mountain waste repository site by the Obama administration reflects existing concerns associated with the future of nuclear energy (Kraft, ). For countries experiencing high socioeconomic growth, nuclear energy can function to meet energy demands, but radioactive waste is still a significant source of negative public opinion.…”

Section: Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research contends that public trust levels for state institutions play an important role in this relationship, but it is not yet clear in which direction the relationship flows (Lehtonen, ). Policy design rooted in community “volunteerism” may prove useful to reduce the political cost as examples in Sweden and Finland suggest (Darst & Dawson, ).…”

Section: Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Down the Line: Assessing the Trajectory of Energy Policy Research Development

Kester¹,

Moyer²,

Song³

2015

Policy Studies Journal

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In light of the impassioned debate regarding various aspects of global climate change, as well as the demand for reliable energy supply for swift economic recovery and stable economic growth in recent years, contemporary policy research on issues concerning energy and natural resources has gained more traction than at any other time in recent history. In this article, we attempt to characterize the recent trends of such research endeavors while reviewing related articles published in major scholarly journals in public policy and related fields of study between 2010 and early 2014. We found that the subtleties of recent energy policy studies revolve around issues pertaining to nuclear energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and hydraulic fracturing operations, while such studies use diverse theoretical and methodological approaches in analyzing various facets of energy policy process ranging from issue framing and agenda setting, to policy formulation and diffusion, to policy evaluation and feasibility assessment. We conclude this article by discussing future research directions of energy policy issues.

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Section: Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Down the Line: Assessing the Trajectory of Energy Policy Research Development

Kester¹,

Moyer²,

Song³

2015

Policy Studies Journal

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“…The 'lesser evil' waste management option was accepted (Raittila and Suominen 2002, 112-113;Lammi 2009, 74-76). This was also one of the arguments by the Greens who strongly opposed nuclear new build, but voted for the ratification of the DiP regarding the final disposal of legacy waste in Parliament (Darst and Dawson 2010).…”

Section: Policy Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

Not excluding nuclear power: the dynamics and stability of nuclear power policy arrangements in Finland

Litmanen

Kojo

2011

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences

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In this article, we aim at using the policy arrangement approach to explain the renewal of nuclear power policy in Finland from 1986 to 2010. From the point of view of national nuclear power decision making, we distinguish three different policy arrangement periods: (1) rejection (1986-1993), (2) revival (1994-2002) and (3) renewal (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010). Within each period, the four dimensions which are, such as policy coalitions, 'rules of the game', policy discourses and resources are analysed. The three periods indicate that policy development has not been unilinear. In the rejection period, the 'shock event' of Chernobyl mixed up the policy arrangement. For example, the supporting coalition was temporarily paralysed, the political effectiveness of discourses changed and the anti-nuclear coalition found new resources. In the revival period, liberalisation and deregulation of electricity markets altered the formal rules of the game. A new energy policy of not excluding nuclear power was formulated, in which nuclear power was defined as a low-emission and technically or economically viable mode of production that could support environmental and climate objectives. The informal rules of the game also changed, as the supporting coalition re-styled its lobbying strategy. The latest period -renewal -is characterised by a strong supporting coalition aimed at further increasing nuclear power production capacity in Finland. This was most evident in the discourse aimed at the liberalisation of the licensing process. Despite changed policy arrangements, there is also continuity in the Finnish nuclear power policy, as the main formal rule of the game -the Nuclear Energy Act of 1987 -was largely left untouched. The supporting coalition seemed to survive the nadirs better than the challenging coalition, due to the proximity of interests held by the energy-intensive export industry, state and labour unions over the last two periods, and due to an asymmetry in the resources. It was revealed that climate change discourse strengthened during all the periods. The analysis also indicated the importance of the government programme, as it may or may not exclude nuclear power.

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“…During this period, several countries that had been world leaders in developing the first civil nuclear energy programmes stopped approving new reactor construction sites (Küpper, 2006: 156). Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland decided to abandon their nuclear power programmes altogether, placing bans on new reactor construction, and either phasing out or immediately decommissioning existing reactors (Darst and Dawson, 2010;WNA, 2012b). Spain and the UK placed moratoriums on new reactor construction (Nuclear Industry Association, 2013;WNA, 2013d).…”

Section: The Fall Of Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the first reactor was not ordered until 1987, and plans to order the remaining reactors were cancelled two years later (Thomas, 2008: 13). From 1988From -2002, France was the only country in Western Europe to begin construction on a new nuclear reactor (Darst and Dawson, 2010: 51). The nuclear industry did, however, show some signs of life with construction beginning on the first nuclear reactors in Romania in 1982and China in 1985(IAEA, 2014c.…”

Section: The Fall Of Nuclear Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Much ado about nothing? The rhetoric and reality of the nuclear renaissance

Graaff¹

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Since 2000, swathes of energy experts, government officials, industry representatives and journalists have predicted the emergence of a global 'nuclear renaissance.' Nuclear energy was said to be on the precipice of a new era of development, characterised by widespread construction of new nuclear reactors and a concomitant increase in global nuclear capacity. Despite this expectation, there is little evidence to date which suggests that a revival of nuclear power has taken place in the regions of Western Europe and North America in the way that the rhetoric depicted. This thesis therefore seeks to firstly establish that there is a disjuncture between the rhetoric and reality of the nuclear renaissance in Western Europe and North America, and secondly, to explain why this disjuncture exists.Academic and journalistic debate over recent developments in civil nuclear energy policy has tended to focus on two key reasons for why there has not been a widespread expansion of nuclear energy in these regions. Firstly, that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011 reignited concerns over nuclear safety, thereby eroding public and political support for nuclear new build. Secondly, that the economic problems facing nuclear development continued to act as a major disincentive to the construction of new nuclear power plants. However, the global applicability of these two issues means that neither of these explanations can explain why the nuclear renaissance appears to have failed in Western Europe and North America, while nuclear new build is expanding in other parts of the world. Moreover, the revival of safety concerns post-Fukushima fails to explain why there was little evidence of a nuclear renaissance taking place prior to March 2011.This thesis provides a contribution to knowledge by adopting a more holistic and inductive approach for understanding why there is a disjuncture between the expectation and reality of the nuclear renaissance in Western Europe and North America. It challenges existing explanations for the failure of the nuclear renaissance as being simplistic, mono-causal and a-historical. This thesis disputes the idea that the absence of a widespread expansion of nuclear energy and the apparent failure of the nuclear renaissance can be attributed to any one problem or event. Instead, it embraces the simple premise that a broad range of contextual factors must be explored in order to fully understand why the rhetoric of a nuclear renaissance has not become a reality.An extensive analysis of government, industry and media documents published from 1945 onwards, as well as interviews with experts in nuclear energy policy, was undertaken in order to establish a better understanding of how and why nuclear energy development changes over time. Through this process, it became clear that the reasons typically cited for explaining changes in nuclear development are 'nuclear-specific factors'. That is, factors relating directly to the construction and operation of nuclear power plants -such as the economics of ...

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Waiting for the Nuclear Renaissance: Exploring the Nexus of Expansion and Disposal in Europe

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Down the Line: Assessing the Trajectory of Energy Policy Research Development

Down the Line: Assessing the Trajectory of Energy Policy Research Development

Not excluding nuclear power: the dynamics and stability of nuclear power policy arrangements in Finland

Much ado about nothing? The rhetoric and reality of the nuclear renaissance

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