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Upcoming German Election Brings Nuclear Power Back into the Spotlight.
Germany election brings nuclear power back into spotlightIt’s been less than two years since Germany shuttered its three remaining nuclear plants on April 15, 2023—the culmination of a decision reached during the backlash following the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan in 2011.
Now, Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading a charge to revive nuclear power ahead of the national election on February 23, which the party is expected to win, according to Politico.
When energy supply in the region was constricted as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, German officials opted to keep the country’s last nuclear plants on line throughout the winter of 2022 to shore up supplies. Since then, surging energy prices in the country (largely due to its dependence on stilted Russian fuel supplies) have taken a toll on Germany’s industrial competitiveness and pressured companies to move elsewhere, Politico reports.
“It is in our national interest to retain the option of nuclear power,” Jens Spahn, deputy parliamentary leader of the CDU, told the news outlet. “When a new generation of small and low-waste nuclear power plants is ready for the market, we should use it. The demand for energy in the digital world is increasing instead of decreasing...”
...Support for nuclear: Opposition to Germany’s move to cease nuclear power operations included an outspoken group of scientists in the final weeks of nuclear plant operations calling on the government to spare the remaining nuclear plants, which still produced enough zero-emission energy to power 10 million German households each year. Scientists in their April 2023 open letter to the German government pointed to France, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, among others—countries “planning to build new nuclear power plants or are already doing so, while Belgium and Switzerland are seeking to extend the operating licenses of their plants...”
...Schwarzenegger pointed to California’s Diablo Canyon and the groundswell of support to keep the plant on line in the face of potential closure in recent years. The 2,200-MWe plant has a five-year license extension reprieve while it pursues a 20-year extension for the reactors from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“It was supposed to close in 2024, but no, President Biden said, ‘Wait a minute.’ Governor Newsom said, ‘Wait a minute. This is giving us clean energy. Let’s keep it open. Let’s refurbish it, modernize it, spend a billion dollars to make sure it’s safe,’” Schwarzenegger said...
Now, Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading a charge to revive nuclear power ahead of the national election on February 23, which the party is expected to win, according to Politico.
When energy supply in the region was constricted as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, German officials opted to keep the country’s last nuclear plants on line throughout the winter of 2022 to shore up supplies. Since then, surging energy prices in the country (largely due to its dependence on stilted Russian fuel supplies) have taken a toll on Germany’s industrial competitiveness and pressured companies to move elsewhere, Politico reports.
“It is in our national interest to retain the option of nuclear power,” Jens Spahn, deputy parliamentary leader of the CDU, told the news outlet. “When a new generation of small and low-waste nuclear power plants is ready for the market, we should use it. The demand for energy in the digital world is increasing instead of decreasing...”
...Support for nuclear: Opposition to Germany’s move to cease nuclear power operations included an outspoken group of scientists in the final weeks of nuclear plant operations calling on the government to spare the remaining nuclear plants, which still produced enough zero-emission energy to power 10 million German households each year. Scientists in their April 2023 open letter to the German government pointed to France, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, among others—countries “planning to build new nuclear power plants or are already doing so, while Belgium and Switzerland are seeking to extend the operating licenses of their plants...”
...Schwarzenegger pointed to California’s Diablo Canyon and the groundswell of support to keep the plant on line in the face of potential closure in recent years. The 2,200-MWe plant has a five-year license extension reprieve while it pursues a 20-year extension for the reactors from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“It was supposed to close in 2024, but no, President Biden said, ‘Wait a minute.’ Governor Newsom said, ‘Wait a minute. This is giving us clean energy. Let’s keep it open. Let’s refurbish it, modernize it, spend a billion dollars to make sure it’s safe,’” Schwarzenegger said...
An interesting turn. Note however that the "household" is not a unit of energy, although apologists for the failed "renewable energy" scam often use it as such.