Germany shuts down last three nuclear plants amid energy crisis

Germany will permanently shut down its final three operating nuclear power plants, in a move to finally fulfill a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago to end the country’s reliance on nuclear energy.

The nuclear plants – Emsland, Isar 2, and Neckarwestheim – will be closed on Saturday, according to the German authorities.

The three reactors had been due to end their lives by the end of last year, but the war in Ukraine and the following energy crisis, as well as concerns over energy security without Russia’s gas, prompted Berlin to delay its plan and keep the reactors running only until April 15.

In the meantime, environmental groups planned to mark the day with celebrations outside the three reactors and rallies in major cities, including Berlin. Small, closed-door ceremonies inside the plants were also organized.

“It is a great achievement for millions of people who have been protesting nuclear in Germany and worldwide for decades,” CNN quoted Paul-Marie Manière, a spokesperson for Greenpeace, as saying.

For critics of the policy, however, it’s irrational to turn off a low-carbon source of energy as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify.

They argue that fossil fuels should be phased out first as part of global efforts to curb climate change. They say that nuclear power produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and is safe, if properly managed.

More than 30 percent of the country’s energy comes from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels.

Bavaria’s conservative governor, Markus Soeder, called the shutdown “an absolute mistaken decision.”

“While many countries in the world are even expanding nuclear power, Germany is doing the opposite,” Soeder said.

“We need every possible form of energy. Otherwise, we risk higher electricity prices and businesses moving away,” he added.

Claudia Kemfert of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, however, believes the 5 percent share of Germany’s electricity currently coming from its remaining three reactors can be easily replaced without risking blackouts.

The government plans to replace the roughly 6 percent of electricity generated by the three nuclear plants with renewables as well as gas and coal.

Several other countries are treading paths similar to Germany’s, including Denmark, which passed a resolution in the 1980s not to construct nuclear power plants.

Switzerland voted in 2017 to phase out nuclear power and Italy closed its last reactors in 1990.

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