Nuclear energy is once again emerging as a key component in the energy strategies of several Western countries. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government announced this week a £14.2 billion investment in the construction of a new plant at Sizewell C. A project Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called the beginning of a “new golden age” for the UK nuclear sector. In the United States, President Donald Trump recently signed a series of executive orders to quadruple the country’s nuclear capacity by 2050.
These announcements come as many governments search for alternatives to fossil fuels to meet mid-century decarbonization targets. While investment in renewables such as solar and wind has grown significantly in recent years, progress toward net-zero emissions has been slower than expected.
In this context, the debate around the role of nuclear energy has gained new momentum, fueled by recent publications such as the book Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World, by British scientist Tim Gregory, a chemist at the Sellafield nuclear facility. In his book, Gregory argues that nuclear energy is currently one of the most viable options for achieving an emissions-free power grid.
According to his estimates, just ten reactors like Finland’s Olkiluoto-3 would be enough to eliminate fossil fuel dependency in the UK’s electricity system. Europe would need around 170 reactors, and globally, approximately 1,500. Gregory points to France as a reference, where 56 reactors were built in the decades following the 1970s oil crisis, allowing nuclear to supply up to 70% of the country’s electricity demand.
Arguments for expanding nuclear power are also supported by comparative analyses of its impact versus other energy sources. Various studies show that the number of deaths linked to accidents like Chernobyl, Fukushima, or Three Mile Island has been limited, while air pollution from coal, gas, and oil causes thousands of deaths every year.
In the United Kingdom, Sellafield currently holds the world’s largest civilian stockpile of plutonium, with 141 tons stored. According to Gregory, this material could be reused as fuel for new reactors for over a century, but the government has recently opted to dispose of it through deep geological storage.
Germany’s case has also reignited the debate. Its energy transition strategy, which involved phasing out nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster, has come at a cost of more than €500 billion. Various technical assessments suggest that this investment could have funded the construction of dozens of nuclear reactors capable of meeting the country’s entire electricity demand without relying on intermittent sources.
The nuclear energy debate remains open. Recent political decisions and investment figures point to a potential rethinking of the energy model—one that could return the atom to a central role in the years ahead.
