Susan Walsh/AP
- Elon Musk tweeted it was “extremely obvious” Europe should boost nuclear energy output amid the Ukraine war.
- There are fears of an energy supply crunch in Europe as it’s heavily reliant on Russian gas imports.
- Musk said on Friday the US needs to boost its oil and gas output to offset declines in Russian exports.
Elon Musk has called for a boost in Europe’s nuclear-energy output amid fears of a gas shortage on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Musk tweeted on Sunday evening that it’s “extremely obvious” that Europe should restart dormant nuclear power plants and boost the output of those that are operational.
“This is *critical* to national and international security,” wrote the CEO of Tesla. Tesla runs a clean energy business alongside its electric vehicle unit.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022
Europe is on track to be home to 102 shutdown nuclear reactors at the end of this year, according to a Bloomberg compilation of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Nuclear Industry Status Report.
Russia supplies about one-third of Europe’s gas demand, according to the International Energy Agency. The continent has come to rely on Russian natural-gas exports as a transition fuel as countries move toward renewable energy. But the shift to renewables has not been fast enough for the EU to ease its reliance on Russian gas, Insider’s Sam Tabahriti and James Dean reported in late February.
Germany, in particular, relies on Russia for more than half its gas demand as the country has been phasing out nuclear energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011. Germany’s last three nuclear plants are set to close by the end of 2022, but it is now considering delaying the country’s planned exit from nuclear energy and coal, Reuters reported on February 27.
Musk said “nuclear is vastly better” for global warming than burning fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is a zero-emission clean energy source, per the US Office of Nuclear Energy.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022
Musk’s call for more nuclear energy in Europe comes two days after he pushed for a boost in US oil and gas output to counter any decline in Russian supplies.
Russian oil exports have fallen by one-third due to sweeping Western sanctions against Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Energy Intelligence reported last Wednesday. Although the sanctions do not specifically target Russian oil and gas exports, there was “general reluctance among buyers to risk taking Russian cargoes,” the trade media outlet reported.
The developments have caused oil prices to spike to multiyear highs, sending gas prices at the pump soaring.
“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately,” Musk said in a tweet on Friday. “Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.”
Sustainable energy solutions aren’t able to offset the shortfall in Russian oil and gas exports immediately, he added in a follow-up tweet.
Musk’s companies have been involved in the Ukraine crisis, with SpaceX Starlink internet terminals to the country and Tesla offering free charging for electric vehicles in four cities around Ukraine for those fleeing.
Musk has expressed support for the Ukrainian people and sent sympathies via a tweet on Sunday to those in Russia “who do not want this.”
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