Some politicians want to return to nuclear power
Germany shut down its last nuclear reactors in April 2023. This was a consequence of a decision made 12 years earlier by his ex German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The decision to abandon nuclear power at that time was dictated by safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Today CDUAngela Merkel’s party, is questioning this decision, demanding to check whether it is possible to restart the deactivated reactors, taking into account “a reasonable technical and financial cost as well as the shutdown stage.”
Companies: It’s unprofitable
“We do not see an economically viable way to return to nuclear power plants in Germany” – Nadia Jakobi, chief financial officer at EON, told analysts.
Markus Krebber, RWE’s executive director, has a similar opinion. In his opinion, it is “very unlikely that we will restore nuclear reactors.” He mentioned missing permits, lack of qualified staff and unprofitability as the main obstacles. Krebber added that renewable energy sources and nuclear power are not a good combination, because renewable energy sources weaken the profitability of nuclear reactors.
Other countries are building new reactors
Meanwhile, the world is talking about a Renaissance nuclear energy. You can find many reasons for this state of affairs. Many experts estimate that renewable energy sources, despite their benefits, also have serious disadvantages, such as lack of stability depending on the weather or the need to use huge spaces to install power plants. Atom, in the opinion of its supporters, can effectively fill this gap, and additionally it is not associated with CO2 emissions, which many countries in the world, led by the EU, want to limit. In addition Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed the importance of having stable energy sources that are not so dependent on the geopolitical situation.
As a result, many countries decided to return to nuclear energy. There are currently 23 nuclear reactors under construction in China. Sweden and Slovakia also want to build new nuclear reactors. France, whose energy is based on nuclear energy, is also lobbying for a return to this technology. Poland is also on the way to its first nuclear power plant.
