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| Fig. 1: Grohnde Nuclear Power Plant in Germany (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Until March 2011, Germany obtained more than a fourth of its electricity from nuclear energy. This nuclear energy came from 17 reactors across the country. [1] Germany has long supported nuclear energy, however, in the early 1970s, it began to change its view towards it. The coalition was formed between the Social Democratic Party and the Liberals in 1973. [2] It was not until 2011 where real action was taken against nuclear energy, when 8 plants were shut down. The power plants have taken legal action since the implementation of the phase out of nuclear in 2011 in regards to protection of property right. [3]
The German nuclear phase out program which started in 2011 will succeed in eliminating nuclear energy in Germany by 2022, when the last nuclear power plant will be shut down. [4] This program was implemented in response to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster that resulted in the change in nuclear power programs in many other countries across the world including China, Switzerland, Israel. Malaysia, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the Philippines. [2] In Germany, the Fukushima disaster completely shifted the public sentiment toward nuclear energy as well as fueling the fire of environmental protection groups in public policy who had been trying to eliminate nuclear power plants in Germany for decades. In years since the instatement of the nuclear phase out program in 2011, 10 of Germany's 17 main nuclear plants have been removed with the next one scheduled to shut down on December 31, 2019 (see Fig. 1). This results in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. [5] Following the shutdown of all nuclear power plants, there are numerous impacts that the country will feel. The first is electricity price. The model finds that prices will consistently increase about 10 EUR/MWh. [6] Additionally, the nuclear power plants accepted the phase out program and have shifted their focus to trying to make the most profit from it instead of fighting the shutdown. They have helped plan and implement decommissioning and the future storage of nuclear waste. [6] One storage site is the Konrad repository, where 303,000 m3 of nuclear waste will be stored. [2]
Germany has long embraced nuclear energy, however, in 2011 its viewpoint shifted. Following the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, Germany has implemented a phase out program which will shut down all nuclear power plants in the country by 2022. Germany's shift away from nuclear energy highlights a greater global trend among developed nations away from nuclear energy.
© Zach Sehgal. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] C. Castellanos, "German Nuclear Dismantlement," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2017.
[2] Lars Kramm, "The German Nuclear Phase out After Fukushima. A Peculiar Path or an Example for Others?," Renew. Energy L. Policy Rev. 4, 251 (2012).
[3] M. Ludwigs, "Germany's Nuclear Phase-Out and the Right to Property," Eur. Networks L. Reg. Q. 4, No. 1, 43 (2016).
[4] J. Faust, "Evaluating the Consequences of German De-Nuclearization," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2018.
[5] M. Ramadan, "The Economics of German Nuclear Power," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2016.
[6] F. Kunz and H. Weigt, "Germany's Nuclear Phase Out: A Survey of the Impact since 2011 and Outlook to 2023," Econ. Energy Env. Pol. 3, No. 2, 13 (2014).
