Briefly: Germany switched off its three remaining nuclear power plants on Saturday. The reactors were already living on borrowed time after being granted a three-month extension in December to see Germany through the winter.
Berlin made the decision to abandon nuclear in 2011after Japan’s Fukushima disaster, but a decade and a war later, many now think this was near-sighted.
A recent poll suggests two thirds of Germans oppose the closing down of the remaining nuclear power plants, at least in the short term.
Intrigue’s take: Germany may be in good company: nuclear’s share of global electricity production has been steadily declining for the past two decades, as other low-carbon energy sources become cheaper.
But in parallel, several of Germany’s neighbours – spooked by the Russo-Ukraine War – are actually looking to add more nuclear power to their energy mix, as a means to pursue both climate and energy security goals.
Also worth noting:
- In 2022, renewables accounted for about 44% of Germany’s electricity production, with coal supplying an additional 30%.
- Energy ministers from the UK, US, Canada, Japan and France agreed on Monday to cooperate to “undermine Russia’s grip” on the global supply of nuclear fuel.
