nucleareurope discusses policy enablers for new nuclear countries at ONS 2026
On Thursday 27 August, nucleareurope Communications & Advocacy Director Jessica Johnson participated in the 2026 edition of the ONS conference, a bi-yearly event bringing together global energy industry stakeholders in Stavanger, Norway. The conference, held from 24 to 27 August, delved into the future of the global energy landscape.
As part of the event, Jessica participated in a panel discussion entitled “Fast-forwarding deployment in new nuclear countries”, which explored enablers for the development of nuclear in newcomer countries. In her intervention, she specifically discussed enabling policies for the development of new nuclear across Europe.
“In Europe, installed nuclear capacity is set to grow from 100 Gigawatts (GW) today to close to 150GW by 2050. The growth in capacity will come from investments in countries already operating nuclear power plants, but also newcomer countries. An enabling policy framework will be critical to support the industry in delivering on these investments, which will significantly contribute Europe’s future energy system” first highlighted Jessica, before delving into the policy enablers needed to support nuclear development in Europe.
Detailing the recommendations of nucleareurope’s recent Action Plan for Nuclear, Jessica stressed the need for long-term, technology neutral policies which put nuclear and renewables on an equal footing both in terms of climate legislation and access to finance. She added that support to the European nuclear fuel cycle sector and supply chain, as well as an accelerated regulatory framework – for example for State aid decisions – will also be key to speed up the deployment of new nuclear capacity in Europe.
Concluding her intervention, Jessica noted that factors such as public acceptance and access to a skilled workforce will also play a major role for the development of nuclear. She insisted on the need for a collaborative approach to foster public engagement in nuclear projects, and to tackle the skills issue in a horizontal way.