Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations will shut down on Saturday, 12 years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan accelerated the country’s exit from atomic energy.
The closures mark the conclusion of a stop-start approach to atomic energy and a victory for the country’s vociferous anti-nuclear movement.
The facilities shutting are in Emsland, in the northern state of Lower Saxony, the Isar 2 site in Bavaria, and Neckarwestheim, in Baden-Württemberg in the south-west.
The shutdowns leave a conundrum for energy policymakers attempting to balance growing electricity demand in one of Europe’s industrial superpowers and efforts to decarbonise, against the backdrop of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine.
Germany last year delayed the closure of the three sites – which provided about 6.5% of the country’s electricity in 2022 – after Russia reduced European gas supplies, triggering concerns about a shortage of energy over the winter.
The country began phasing out nuclear power more than two decades ago amid a long-fought campaign against the technology, but, in 2010 Angela Merkel, then chancellor, announced an extension to the life of the country’s 17 nuclear plants until 2036 at the latest.
This policy was swiftly reversed the following year after an earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, triggering fresh anti-nuclear protests and political resolve to exit the technology.
Nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island in the US in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986 had already entrenched the push against nuclear in Germany, which had begun earlier in the 1970s. Germany has switched off 16 reactors since 2003.
The final shutdowns have raised questions about security of energy supplies and the outlook for Germany’s carbon emissions. The country plans to close all coal-fired power plants by 2038, with the first round of closures planned in 2030.
However, its parliament approved emergency legislation to reopen mothballed coal-fired power plants to aid electricity generation last year. A push to build more terminals to import liquefied natural gas has also been accelerated since the Ukraine war began.
Coal accounted for just over 30% of Germany’s electricity generation in 2022, ahead of wind – responsible for 22%, gas-fired generation at 13% and solar at 10%. Biomass, nuclear and hydroelectric power made up the bulk of the remainder.
The thinktank Ember has estimated that Germany and Poland will be the EU’s two largest producers of coal-fired electricity in 2030, responsible for more than half of EU power sector emissions by that point.
Advocates of nuclear power argue that it provides a low-carbon, reliable alternative to fossil fuels for electricity generation. Critics say new projects are costly, frequently delayed and present environmental concerns over the disposal of nuclear waste.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the UK’s Nuclear Industry Association, said the phaseout would worsen carbon emissions and “for a country supposedly renowned for its logical and evidence-driven approach is environmentally damaging, economically illiterate and deeply irresponsible”.
He added: “At a time of heightened concern about energy security, Germany will be abandoning assets that can displace 34bn cubic metres of gas a year.”
But Tom Burke, chair of the thinktank E3G, played down fears over energy security, and said a mild winter and high levels of gas storage in Europe meant concerns about power supplies next winter had eased.
He said Germany’s renewables industry was growing and that improving grid connections and battery storage across the country would be key to moving the country’s energy system away from fossil fuels.
“The coal is mainly being burnt for social and economic reasons, making sure the industry doesn’t shut down all at once,” said Burke. “You cannot have a technology transformation without a social transformation.”
Germany’s abandonment of nuclear power is in contrast to the stated ambitions of the UK government, which last month kickstarted a fresh push into nuclear. Ministers have set up a delivery body for new nuclear projects and are running a competition for small nuclear reactors.
However, progress on developing two existing large projects, Sizewell C in Suffolk and Hinkley Point C in Somerset, has been slow, with the latter delayed and overbudget.
