A poll conducted by Kantar Emor in January shows that 54% of those polled are in favour or rather in favour of considering a small modular reactor to ensure Estonia's security of electricity supply, while 28% are against or rather against.
Compared to the September 2020 survey, the share of those in favour and against has decreased slightly, by 4 and 2 percentage points respectively, and the share of those with no clear position has increased.
Kalev Kallemets, a member of the board of Fermi Energia, which commissioned the survey, said that small changes in a short period of time are to be expected. "For us, a significant share of the viewpoint means that we need to further clarify what a small reactor is and which ones we consider suitable for Estonia and why. There are a lot of myths associated with nuclear energy, and experts need to explain them. The most sensitive of these for people is the issue of spent fuel storage, which we have been working hard on in 2020 and will be presenting in the coming weeks," Kallemets explained.
Kantar Emor's survey also showed that the development of a small modular reactor (38%) is the most favoured way of generating electricity, after solar (60%) and wind (57%), according to respondents, after abandoning shale power. Natural gas (15%), shale electricity generation alongside oil production (13%) and wood chips (10%) are less favoured.
Respondents see the biggest advantages of nuclear energy as being the security of electricity supply in all weather conditions (50%), as well as cheaper electricity prices (40%) and reduced carbon emissions (35%). However, obstacles were seen in the storage of nuclear waste (65%), the risk of accidents (52%) and the lack of expertise in Estonia (40%).