Why Germany Phased Out Nuclear

german nuclear plant being shutdown

Germany, the economic powerhouse in europe, has decomissioned its last three nuclear power plants a couple years ago. Nuclear power is often touted as the future of clean energy for the world due to the power they have to generate. However, people remain skeptical of the benefits of nuclear power, often swayed by the risks that nuclear power presents. A notable nuclear disaster that comes to the mind of many europeans is the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the 1980s, which nearly made europe a nuclear wasteland.

Nuclear Shell Shock

A 4000MW capable plant with four nuclear reactors exploded, spraying dangerously radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. Luckily only one of the four reactors has actually has a problem, yet this was enough to significantly increase radiation levels across europe. With the memories of Chernyobl still fresh in the mind of many european inhabitants, fear for another disaster is wide spread.

However, not all oppositon to nuclear power is present because of the dangers, but also because of cost. It is no secret that building a nuclear power plant is expensive. Many precautions must be taken when building a nuclear reactor, which add costs to the construction of the plant. The nuclear fuel itself is also a cost point, being more expensive than other fuel sources. Not only that, the world heavily relies on countries such as Kazakstan to supply nuclear due to their plentiful sources, but the exraction of uranium itself is also problematic. Spent nuclear fuel is also a concern to many citizens, as spent fuel is not very easily disposed of and can pose hazards to the enviroment.

Unfortunate Challanges

Unfortunatly due to current global circumstances such as the war between Ukraine and Russia, Kazakstan is viewed as a liability in the eyes of Germans due to their close relations with Russia. This invokes supply chain issues for much of europe.

This does not mean nuclear power is impossible or even unfeasible. France, Germany's neighbor is an excellent example for a leading power in nuclear power. France's energy supply is fuffiled about 70% by its own domestic nuclear power plants, which is a huge amount. Due to France's heavy investment into nuclear power, the French have developed methods for managing many problems accorciated with nuclear power. First of all, the operational safety of French reactors have a pretty good history, only having a couple in its early years, and none in our modern time. Nuclear fuel disposal issues have also been midigated with the development of the French program for recycling nuclear fuel so that it can once again be used again. These developments have paved a way for a potentially more nuclear future.

Nuclear Struggles

Sadly, this doesn't mean that all nuclear issues are solved though. France has experienced several challenges for nuclear power. In 2022, France imported a significant amount of energy from Germany to compensate for its issues with said reactors. Many reactors were unable to operate due to issues with the cooling systems these reactors employ. High temperatures in the atmosphere made it difficult for the cooling towers to work efficiently, leading to the inability for these nuclear plants to operate.

This raises concerns for nuclear energy as global warming will only increase temperatures further, making it difficult for reactors to continue operate at peak efficiency. However, Germany does consistently import significant amounts of energy from France, being sourced from their Nuclear power plants.