The Nuclear Energy and Safety Act would establish a legal framework covering the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from mining and operation to final waste disposal, while also addressing nuclear safety, security and both radiation and environmental protection.

The bill does not decide whether a nuclear power plant will be built or what form it would take, Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt (Reform) said while introducing the draft. Nor does it determine how much electricity Estonia should produce or from which sources, he added.

That said, Sutt noted that, in his view, Estonia could eventually host small modular reactors, such as the type Fermi Energia plans to develop.

"This is a technology that's advancing rapidly. Interest in adopting it and even implementation is already underway — for example, in Canada," Sutt said, adding that by the time anything might be built in Estonia, the technology will have been fully tested.

The bill would set specific requirements for nuclear power plants, ranging from site selection and construction to operation and waste disposal, that current laws, such as the Radiation Act, do not yet regulate.

"Nuclear energy is clean, reliable and competitively priced. As a reminder, we still import about a third of our electricity and we definitely need more domestic electricity generation," said Sutt.

Oversight of nuclear energy would fall to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), which would act as an independent regulator. The licensing process would follow a phased system: first a preliminary assessment, followed by a construction permit and finally an operating license.

The draft bill would implement the "polluter pays" principle, meaning the nuclear energy producer would contribute to a decommissioning fund to cover waste management costs. By the end of a plant's lifetime, this fund is expected to exceed €1 billion. Operators would also be required to provide financial guarantees and liability insurance to cover potential damages.

In addition, the holder of a nuclear plant license would pay a local benefit fee to the municipality, which would distribute 50 percent of the revenue to individuals living near the plant or within the emergency planning zone.

According to the Ministry of Climate, the host municipality could receive €0.30 per megawatt-hour fed into the grid as a local benefit fee.

Establishing national capacity, including about 80 regulator positions, training and IT system development, is estimated to cost €73 million, most of which is expected to come from the permit and oversight fees paid by the plant developer.

Additional costs for enhancing emergency and technical readiness could reach up to €54 million, depending on the chosen technology and associated risks.

At the same time, the Ministry of Climate forecasts that if a nuclear power plant is built, tax revenues from construction activity and labor would begin to flow into the state budget from the sixth year onward, with revenues exceeding costs already during the construction phase.

Once the nuclear power plant becomes operational — projected to be in the eleventh year — state revenues are expected to exceed expenditures by at least €19 million annually.

The bill is expected to reach the government in March next year, after which it will be debated in the Riigikogu. The law is planned to take effect in January 2027.

In parallel, the government is moving ahead with a national special plan for the nuclear power plant, which was launched in April. According to Sutt, the location of the future plant could be determined by 2027.

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