More and more Norwegians think we should expand nuclear power in the future. Young people are the most engaged. Between 2013 and 2021, the share of young people between 15 and 24 who want nuclear power plants more than quadrupled, according to an Ipsos survey. – It is important to think about alternative energy sources, and nuclear power is in the wind. In any case, fusion. It has just been carried out, so I actually have a lot of faith in that, says Ari Tufteland. Young people and men most positive The research carried out by Ipsos every quarter shows that 26 per cent of young people think we should develop more nuclear power in the future. In a similar survey carried out last spring by Norstat for news, 37 per cent of young people between 18 and 29 answered that they would like Norway to invest in nuclear power. The most positive were men, as more than half of them were positive about nuclear power in this country. Jakob Finstad believes that things like Chernobyl and the Cold War with nuclear weapons can be frightening for the elderly, but unknown to the young. – We haven’t noticed any of the consequences of Chernobyl, for example. It’s just a distant concept for our generation, he says. Jakob Finstad thinks he understands a bit of why older people are more suspicious of having a nuclear power plant as a neighbour. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Do you think the premises have changed When young people become more and more positive about it: is there a chance that we can seriously discuss nuclear power in Norway and open such a power plant one day or another? Ole Christen Reistad is head of the Department for Environmental Safety and Radiation Protection at the Department of Energy Engineering. And not least: he was head of Norway’s last nuclear reactor, Jeep II at Kjeller in Akershus, which was shut down in 2019. Ole Christen Reistad believes that nuclear power will be more discussed in Norway in the future, but whether it will be produced nuclear power here, he is more uncertain. Photo: Odin Omland / news Reistad believes that the question of nuclear power is simply different now than it was a few decades ago. – Now we have a common energy market in the Nordics. We have a partially shared one in Europe. – Then I think perhaps the chance is even less for nuclear power in Norway, because then people will say that we have nuclear power in Sweden. And it works perfectly well for the Norwegian market. Because every time they open a new reactor, it has a positive impact on us, says Reistad. Convinced of increasing popularity – Has people’s relationship with nuclear power changed recently? – Yes. I am absolutely sure of that, says Jan Emblemsvåg, professor at NTNU in Ålesund. Together with other researchers, he has received ten million kroner to research nuclear reactors that can be used as engines on cargo and cruise ships. Together with other researchers, Jan Emblemsvåg has received ten million to research reactors that can be used as engines on large, civilian ships – completely different from those that have operated nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers for many decades. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news He also travels around with lectures on this topic, and is pointing to what he believes is a clear increase in interest in nuclear power. – People are generally positive when they have been asked a couple of fundamental questions. It depends on costs, waste and safety. Those are the three things most people are wondering about, says Emblemsvåg. But many still have many questions and several are skeptical, even after the lecture. – I speak for 45 minutes, but there are still questions for half an hour afterwards. Still a bit skeptical – When I think of nuclear power plants, I immediately think of radioactivity and the like, says Marius Bringsvor Rusten. All three students think nuclear power is exciting and interesting, but they understand that some are skeptical. – What would you have thought, then, if someone suggested building a nuclear reactor in your home municipality? – I would have been a bit skeptical, says Rusten.
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Nuclear power and atomic power are becoming increasingly popular
