Denmark is considering building small modular nuclear reactors to meet its energy needs, the climate and energy ministry said Thursday, which would bring an end to its 1985 ban on nuclear power.
A framework for investigating the “potentials and risks” of new nuclear technologies and the lifting of the moratorium was now in place, the ministry said in a statement.
“Green energy from solar and wind is now and will continue to be the backbone of the Danish energy supply, but we can also see that it cannot stand alone,” said Denmark’s Climate, Energy and Utilities Minister Lars Aagaard.
“We must be open to examining whether other technologies can provide us with green energy in the future,” he said.
“Small modular nuclear reactors may be an option.”
SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts of electricity per unit, or about a third of the generating capacity of a traditional nuclear power reactor.
They are relatively simple to build, which makes them more affordable than large power reactors.
The ministry said the government was seeking more information on regulatory processes, safety issues, handling of radioactive waste, competencies and cost before making a political decision.
The Danish parliament, which voted to ban nuclear power from its energy production in 1985, agreed in early 2025 to begin examining new nuclear power technologies as a possible energy source.
Wind power accounts for 58 percent of Denmark’s electricity production, biofuels 18 percent, solar power 11 percent, and waste and coal five percent each, according to 2024 figures from the International Energy Agency.
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