Faroe Islands to assess nuclear power potential

The Faroe Islands will investigate whether nuclear power could be used there, Kringvarp Føroya reports. Minister for Energy Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen says the review is needed because emissions per resident in the Faroe Islands are significantly higher than in the other Nordic countries.

A nuclear power plant produces no carbon dioxide emissions, and the minister says developments in nuclear energy should be monitored.

“We all know that our CO2 emissions are rather high. Nuclear power is an energy source that is being developed extensively in other countries at the moment, in different sizes and with different capacities. So I think we should keep a close eye on it,” Niclasen said.

She said safety around nuclear power had improved considerably. The possibility of building smaller nuclear power plants was another reason to investigate whether the technology could be suitable for the Faroe Islands.

Niclasen said it would be appropriate to visit countries that operate nuclear power plants. The Environment Agency is expected to play an important role in the assessment.

Kári Mannbjørn Mortensen, an energy specialist at the agency’s energy division, said the Faroe Islands would have a smaller impact on the climate if they used nuclear power.

“It is greener in the sense that it produces no CO2 at all, and our energy consumption would therefore have no consequences for climate change,” he said.

Mortensen acknowledged that people often fear nuclear power, particularly because uranium can be enriched to increase its density. If enriched to a very high level, it can be used to make nuclear weapons.

He said there was no need for concern if regulations and monitoring were sufficiently strict. Uranium used to produce energy could not be directly used to make weapons, he said, but strong oversight was needed at production sites to ensure it was used only for energy production and was not passed on to others seeking to make weapons.

It is not yet clear when the Environment Agency and the Ministry of Health and Energy will begin a formal assessment. No work plan has been prepared.