Russia-Ukraine war may increase support for nuclear energy despite power plant scares, advocates say

The Russia-Ukraine war may increase demand for nuclear energy, nuclear power advocates say, even amid simmering fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal war may result in a radioactive incident at one of Ukraine's nuclear power plants. 

The comments come after multiple scares about the safety of Ukraine's nuclear sites in the first two weeks of Russia's invasion, including a power failure at the defunct Chernobyl plant Wednesday. 

But the Russia-Ukraine war is also renewing a focus on energy security in the West — including in the role nuclear power can play in that, according to Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) senior vice president for policy development and public affairs John Kotek. 

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Developer companies are seeing more interest in their products since the invasion started, Kotek said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference Wednesday. 

"People recognize that nuclear can play a really valuable role in energy security," he said.

Kotek and other experts at NEI — which advocates for nuclear power in the U.S. and abroad — tamped down on fears of a radioactive accident at Ukraine's nuclear power plants Wednesday. They simultaneously warned that turning away from nuclear energy because of the Ukrainian nuclear scares may help energy-rich dictators like Putin.

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"If nuclear were to somehow, you know, be taken off the table or support for it was withdrawn," Kotek added, "that's going to further undermine energy security in Europe, here in the U.S. and beyond and really plays into the hands of those who want to use energy as a weapon."

Kotek noted that Belgian politicians are now reconsidering a planned closing of the country's nuclear plants. 

NEI president and CEO Maria Korsnick, meanwhile, touted bipartisan support for nuclear energy in the United States. 

"We have bipartisan support, and that's saying something for D.C. There's not a lot of things that get bipartisan support — nuclear power does," she said. "If you look at the infrastructure package that was passed last October, there were some really key things in there for nuclear power."

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Korsnick further touted the safety of modern nuclear facilities, including "passive safety systems." And she emphasized that transitioning to nuclear energy can allow for a more "just" transition to carbon-free energy because it creates jobs for workers who previously worked in other forms of energy. 

"What's … maybe not discussed as much is the fact that nuclear has good-paying jobs," she said. "Not only do you need that carbon-free power — and nuclear has it round the clock, seven days a week, 24 hours a day — but it also brings those good jobs to these local communities."

She added: "When you close these coal plants, we'll put a small modular reactor where that coal plant was. You can reuse the infrastructure."