IAEA assists Estonia in drawing up nuclear law

Tuesday, 28 January 2025

The Estonian parliament - the Riigikogu - passed a resolution in June last year supporting the adoption of nuclear energy in the country, paving the way for the creation of the necessary legal and regulatory framework. The parliament based its decision on analysis conducted by the Nuclear Energy Working Group, which concluded that the adoption of nuclear energy in Estonia was feasible.

The IAEA said the legislative assistance mission, held from 13 January to 17 January, provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions with members of Estonia's Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation and other national stakeholders on the relevant international legal instruments in the areas of nuclear safety, nuclear security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage, as well as elements of a comprehensive nuclear law. Estonia is party to all the main instruments adopted under IAEA auspices in the areas of nuclear safety and security.

The mission included a discussion dedicated to nuclear liability, with a focus on the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). It highlighted the importance of a global nuclear liability regime and the key features and benefits of the CSC. In the area of nuclear liability, Estonia is currently party to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage as well as the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention.

The IAEA team also met with parliamentarians representing the Nuclear Energy Support Group and the Environmental Committee to raise awareness on elements of nuclear law and on the importance of a robust national legal framework.

The rest of the mission was dedicated to a discussion with the legislative working group on the draft nuclear law. The discussion centred on comments that the IAEA provided following a 2024 desktop review of the draft law which assessed it in light of the international legal instruments to which Estonia is party or which it potentially intends to join, as well as relevant IAEA standards and guidance.

"The extensive expertise the IAEA is sharing with us during this mission is invaluable in helping to build a legal framework for the use of nuclear energy," said Rene Lauk, a lawyer in Estonia's Ministry of Climate and vice chair of the legislative working group. "Their support and insights significantly contribute to the quality of our drafting process, ensuring the inclusion of best practices and experiences from countries around the world."

Countries considering embarking on a nuclear power programme follow the IAEA Milestones Approach to developing national infrastructure for nuclear power. In October 2023, Estonia hosted an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission to review the status of nuclear infrastructure development as outlined in Phase 1 of the IAEA Milestones Approach. The legal framework is one of 19 specific infrastructure issues that need to be addressed during the three progressive phases of infrastructure development.

The Ministry of Climate said it started drafting the Nuclear Energy and Safety Act to create the necessary regulations for using nuclear energy. The draft legislation is planned to be submitted to the government in June 2026. Additionally, a proposal to establish an independent nuclear regulator, which will ensure the safety of nuclear energy planning through supervision and permit processing, will be submitted to the government by the end of 2026.

Estonia's current domestic electricity generation is dominated by fossil fuels, but the country is seeking to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and is looking at nuclear power, particularly small modular reactors (SMRs) as a reliable and low-carbon option to diversify its energy mix by 2035 when it plans to phase out its use of domestic oil shale.

A survey conducted at the beginning of December by Turu-uuringute AS shows that 68% of Estonian residents support the implementation of nuclear energy, which is 7 percentage points more than six months earlier. 54% of residents consider nuclear energy a suitable replacement for oil shale energy production to ensure electricity independent of weather conditions.

Earlier this month, Fermi Energia submitted an application to Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to begin the state spatial planning process for a 600 MW nuclear power plant based on GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 SMR. The company expects to submit a construction permit application for the proposed plant in 2029, with construction targeted to begin in 2031. The first of two SMRs is set to be operational by the second half of 2035.