Environmental groups reject small nuclear reactors for Portugal

Portuguese environmental organisations Geota, Quercus and Zero have dismissed small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as a viable energy solution for Portugal, calling them expensive, slow and risky. Responding to renewed global interest in nuclear investment, all three groups argue Portugal should instead focus on renewables, storage, grid reinforcement and energy efficiency, resources they say the country already has in abundance. They warn SMRs remain an unproven technology, generate more radioactive waste per unit of electricity than large reactors, and would divert investment from faster, cheaper solutions. Nuclear power, they add, remains the most expensive electricity source and produces long-lived hazardous waste.