Jan 1, 2022: Germany has decided to shut down three of its last six nuclear power stations as it moves to complete its withdrawal from nuclear energy as it focuses on renewable energy.
The government decided to accelerate the phasing out of nuclear energy after Japan’s Fukushima reactor melted in 2011 when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed a coastal plant in the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen CK reactors, operated by E.ON and RWE, shut down late Friday after three-and-a-half decades of operation. The last three nuclear power plants – Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim II – will be shut down by the end of 2022.
The phase out of an energy, which some consider clean and affordable, is an irreversible step for Europe’s largest economy, even as it faces ambitious climate targets and rising electricity prices.
Preliminary figures show that six nuclear power plants accounted for about 12% of Germany’s electricity generation in 2021. The share of renewable energy was about 41%, of which coal was less than 28% and gas about 15%. Germany aims to meet 80% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030 by expanding wind and solar energy infrastructure.
The Japanese government on Tuesday unveiled a plan to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, angering neighboring China and South Korea.
Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!