By Frank Jordan – Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) – Germany is closing half of its six nuclear power plants a year ago, drawing the final curfew over decades of nuclear use.
The decision to dismantle nuclear power and move from fossil fuels to renewable energy was first made in 2002 by the center-left Grahard Schroeder.
A.D. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reversed her decision to extend the lifespan of Germany’s nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, setting a deadline of 2022.
The three reactors now closed for the first time in the mid-1980s. Together, they have provided electricity to millions of German families for four decades.
One of the plants – Brockdorf, located northwest of the Elbe River in Hamburg – became the focus of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union.
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The other two plants are Grohnde, 40 miles[40 km]south of Hanover and 80 km[80 km]west of Munich.
Some in Germany have called for a reversal of the decision to suspend its nuclear program. Atomic energy advocates argue that it could help Germany meet its climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the German government has said it will not suspend all nuclear power plants by next year and stop using coal by 2030. It will not affect the country’s energy security or the goal of making Europe’s largest economy “climate-neutral” by 2045.
“We can show that this is possible in Germany by significantly increasing renewable energy and accelerating the expansion of the grid,” said Robert Habek, Minister of Economy and Climate Change.
Several German neighbors have announced or have announced plans to do so, but others are stuck with the technology. This has raised concerns about nuclear disarmament in Europe, France plans to build new reactor units, and Germany argues that natural gas should be used as a “bridge” until sufficient renewable energy is available, and both sides argue that their choice of energy source will be sustainable.
The remaining three nuclear power plants in Germany – Iceland, Isar and Neakar Westhem – will be cut off by the end of 2022.
While some jobs may be lost, utility company RWE says more than two-thirds of the 600 employees at Gundremmingen nuclear power plant will continue to work until after its closure until 2030. German nuclear power companies are earning close to $ 3 billion for the initial closure of their factories.
The Minister of the Environment, Stefi Lemke, has rejected the idea that a new generation of nuclear power plants will push Germany to change course.
“Nuclear power plants remain high-risk facilities that produce high levels of radioactive atomic waste,” she told Funk Media Group this week.
No final decision has yet been made on where to store tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste at German power plants. Experts say some materials remain dangerously radioactive for 35,000 generations.
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