Additional Nuclear Power Plants on the Dutch Formation Table

During the formation of the government, the Dutch political parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie are negotiating the construction of at least one or two small nuclear power plants in the Netherlands.

The debate is not about whether they should get there, but mainly how much money the government wants to pump, de Volkskrant writes. No decision has been made on the number of power stations and the amount of subsidies. This will only happen once the coalition agreement is completed.

The biggest proponents, VVD and CDA, want to build eight nuclear power plants. They suggested this number, somewhat provocatively, during negotiations in the hope that they would come to at least one or two pieces.

The Christian Union is not against it in principle. D66 is most hesitant about necessity and costs. The sources involved in forming the government informed de Volkskrant about this.

The coalition agreement to build additional nuclear power plants will be a breakthrough in the discussion about how to make the energy supply greener. With the Climate Act, the Netherlands has committed to producing CO2-neutral electricity by 2050.

But this goal will not be achieved with wind and solar energy alone. The main problem with green energy sources is that there is still insufficient storage capacity to ensure a stable supply.

When considering the construction of a new nuclear power plant, the fact that the Netherlands will have to import more gas from Russia also plays a role. For geopolitical reasons, the Netherlands prefers not to rely too heavily on gas from Russian President Putin. The United Kingdom and France also recently decided to increase investment in nuclear energy.