Page - 209 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

A Sustainable Solution? Arguments for Nuclear and Renewable Energy in the Hungarian Expansion Debate PETSCHNER, Anna, EGRES, Dorottya Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Doctoral School of Philosophy and History of Science, Hungary Abstract Hungary’s energy policy dictates the increase of renewables and the maintaining of nuclear capacities. The reactors in the country’s only nuclear power plant can operate until the 2030s, which prompted the discussion about the expansion. In the first part of this paper, the metho dology of topos analysis is used to identify the most common topics in the argumentation of selected political, environmental protectionist and scientific/expert discourses. The extent to which nuclear and renewable energy production can be considered sustainable is a relevant ethical question. In the second part, we analyse the arguments about sustainability in favour of both nuclear and renewable energy. We examine how sustainability is linked to the concern for future generations and how these two considerations are conn ected to the other topoi of the debate. The results show that it is economic risks and benefits that characterise the debate about the expansion, not the requirement of sustainability. 1. Introduction Sustainability is a definite requirement when deciding upon an energy policy. However, it is not straightforward what the term indicates. Arguments about sustainability are present in favour of nuclear as well as renewable energy production. This duality can be observed in the national energy strategies of various European countries. Germany set out to increase renewable energy sources to guarantee half of their electricity supply by 2030 (International Energy Agency 2013a). Although France has the largest number of nuclear reactors in Europe, they are still planning to have reduced the share of nuclear energy to 50% by 2025 with investments in renewables and energy efficiency (International Energy Agency 2016). Although Finland is planning to renew their nuclear capacities, they set out to increase the ratio of renewable energy to 38% by 2020 (International Energy Agency 2013b). Slovakia aims to maintain a 50% share with new reactors (International Energy Agency 2012). There are four nuclear reactors currently operating in Hungary’s only nuclear power plant in the city of Paks. The approaching decommissioning prompted the discussion about the expansion of the power plant (named Paks 2) and the country’s future energy policy. The objective of the National Energy Strategy is to decrease the ratio of fossil energy production by having increased renewables to 16-20% by 2030, and to maintain the 50% ratio of nuclear energy with the expansion (International Energy Agency 2017). However, certain political parties, environmental protectionists and experts argue for an even higher ratio of renewable energy production and a nuclear phase-out. The debate surrounding the expansion is structured by the following questions about nuclear energy and renewable energy sources (henceforth RES): Which mode of energy production could bring supply security and would make the country more competitive? Which would create more jobs and how high would electricity prices be? Would 209