[Global Times Special Correspondent Zhao Dong Global Times Special Correspondent Ren Zhong] Editor's Note: "While other countries are considering the future of nuclear power generation, Germany has completely bid farewell to the era of nuclear power." According to Germany's Bild newspaper, two 160-meter-high cooling towers made of 56,000 tons of reinforced concrete at the Gondremingen nuclear power plant in Bavaria, Germany, were blasted on October 25, which is regarded as Germany's "The end of the era of nuclear energy". Proponents of nuclear power worry that German consumers will face increasingly expensive electricity bills and that Germany's energy-intensive industries will also suffer. So why did Germany abandon nuclear power? What challenges will this bring to Germany's power supply, energy transformation, and economic development?

"The first major industrial country to abandon nuclear power"

According to the Belgian Euractiv website, Germany became the first major industrial country to abandon nuclear power generation. Nuclear power has been providing power to Germany for about 60 years. Initially, the German media called nuclear power generation a major innovation. But in the late 1970s, protests against nuclear power appeared. Critics believe that the handling of nuclear waste is very difficult and there is no proper storage scheme.

As early as 2000, the German government planned to phase out nuclear power. The plan was changed during Merkel's chancellor, when 17 nuclear reactors operating in Germany were allowed to continue operating for several years. But the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011 prompted Germany to make up its mind to abandon nuclear energy. Merkel's government initially planned to shut down nuclear power plants by 2022. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the resulting energy crisis forced Berlin to postpone the closure of nuclear power plants. Germany's last 3 nuclear power plants shut down on April 16, 2023.

Since the shutdown of nuclear power plants, Germany¡¯s carbon emissions have been much higher than necessary because electricity needs have had to rely on coal generation to meet. The two main goals of German politics ¨C reducing carbon dioxide emissions to protect the environment and gradually eliminating nuclear energy ¨C are contradictory because nuclear energy can reliably provide low-emission electricity.

This is also the main reason for the continued development of nuclear power in many countries. According to data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are currently 63 nuclear power stations under construction worldwide, most of which are in Asia. The EU also has new plans: Slovakia will build new giant reactors. Poland is also building the country¡¯s first nuclear power plant. In mid-October, Polish Prime Minister Tusk posted on social media a message: ¡°The first nuclear power plant in Poland is under construction!¡± and he was also labeled: ¡°We are not talking, we are acting.¡±

EU leaders said the energy crisis and the EU¡¯s dependence on overseas energy were the main reasons for seeking to develop nuclear energy, and that nuclear energy ¡°has the potential to decarbonize the energy system¡± and ¡°provide affordable electricity.¡±

Reuters previously reported that the European Commission stated in a draft industry investment needs analysis that EU countries have formulated plans to expand nuclear power installed capacity from the current 98 GW to 109 GW by 2050. The plans require 205 billion euros to be invested in new nuclear power plants, plus 36 billion euros to extend the service life of existing reactors, the draft said. Funding sources include public funds and private funds.

Nuclear generation accounted for about 24% of the EU's total electricity generation last year. EU countries have long been divided on whether to promote nuclear energy to meet carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets. The focus of this debate lies with France and Germany. France uses nuclear energy as its main source of electricity, while Germany has gradually phased out nuclear energy.

Electricity prices rise, energy-intensive enterprises transfer production lines

According to commentary from the German media Nius's Telegram channel cooling tower explosion report, the majority of German citizens opposed nuclear power abandonment, with only four out of hundreds of comments supporting. In fact, the wave of opposition from the German public has been present. Two years ago, a German news agency poll showed that two-thirds of Germans opposed the shutdown of the remaining nuclear power plant, 32% supported the extension of its operating time within a limited time, 33% supported the unlimited extension, and only 26% supported the immediate shutdown of the remaining reactors. On the day of the cooling tower explosion, nuclear power supporters held demonstrations in the field, they feared consumers would face increasingly expensive electric bills. According to environmental organization WePlanet statis

Thomas, who lives in Hamburg, told the Global Times that their four-bedroom villa, which consumes about 5,000 kilowatts of electricity a year, would probably have to pay 2000 euros for electricity.

According to Deutsche Welle, after Germany closed its last three nuclear power plants in April 2023, imported electricity increased significantly. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office, from April to June of that year, Germany imported 18.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, setting a record for imported electricity in a single quarter since 1991.

According to the European News Agency, high electricity prices are causing many problems to industrial production. Some companies are shifting production lines to Eastern Europe, and even Asia and Germany¡¯s manufacturing has become too expensive. The energy crisis has seriously hit the German economy and is now falling into recession for the third year in a row. Data from the German Industrial and Commercial Congress show that the number of German companies failed at the highest level in 12 years in July this year, and it is expected that more than 22,000 companies will apply for bankruptcy this year, averaging more than 60 per day.

According to a report released by the German Chamber of Commerce, Germany could spend around €5.4 trillion on energy transition over the next 25 years. The organization warned that this would be an excessive burden on. German Chamber of Commerce President Adrian said: ¡°Current policies cannot effectively manage energy transition.¡±

¡°This is a vicious cycle.¡±

According to a report by the North German Broadcasting Corporation on the 29th, the German government's goal is to generate 80% of Germany's electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Currently, renewables, mainly wind and solar, account for nearly 57% of the German electricity supply, according to South German Newspaper. Together, coal-fired power plants account for more than 20% of total electricity generation, while gas-fired power plants account for about 16%.

However, due to the extreme dependence of solar and wind energy on the weather, Germany¡¯s energy supply is unstable. In recent years, German power suppliers have increasingly met domestic demand by importing electricity from other countries. For electricity suppliers, electricity purchases from neighboring countries are usually more expensive than those that operate domestic gas or coal-fired power plants with relatively high costs. Germany is the net importer of electricity. In September this year, Germany produced 34.4 TWh (1 TWh equals 1 billion kWh) of electricity, while importing 1.88 TWh of electricity. Imported electricity is mainly from France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.

German political magazine Cicero and other media even commented that "the German model has failed." Although Germany has made remarkable achievements in developing renewable energy, its international prestige is declining and its domestic economy is approaching its limits.

Berlin economist Alved Kessel said that Germany's energy supply is insecure, and the volatility of wind and solar energy has led to uncertainty in power supply. Because the development of renewable energy relies on subsidy policies, the cost of energy transformation is high, and Germany's overall competitiveness declines.

According to "Russia Today" TV, Germany, the EU's largest economy, has been plagued by soaring energy costs and a long-term economic slowdown. Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, Germany relied heavily on cheap Russian natural gas to power its industry. In 2023, Germany significantly increased electricity imports after shutting down its last nuclear power plant. As the EU strives to wean its dependence on Russian energy, Berlin plans to invest 20 billion euros in new gas-fired power stations to phase out coal and maintain stable energy supplies.

The German government plans to build a new gas power plant with a capacity of up to 20 gigawatts, while Brussels plans to approve a capacity of no more than 12.5 gigawatts. The German Focus weekly that a study estimated that this plan would cost electricity users up to 1,200 euros annually.

Well-known German economist Sterte told Euronews that the losses suffered by German industrial companies were irreversible. He said: "When there is no wind and no sun, we need a reliable energy supply. Now that we have shut down the nuclear power plant and want to shut down the coal power plant, all we have left is gas-fired power plant."

Energy expert Peters agrees that gas-fired power plants alone cannot reduce electricity prices, and their operating costs are very high. Natural gas is expensive. In addition, there are the costs of carbon dioxide emissions. In the long run, power generation costs will reach 15 to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour. "It's too expensive and we'll lose our competitiveness," Peters emphasized.

In Sterter's view, nuclear power plants are more suitable than gas-fired power plants. He said: "I don't support the phase-out of nuclear power. I will do everything I can to reverse the phase-out of nuclear power and restart those nuclear power plants."

The German Nuclear Association calls for the reboot of the reactor. The association said: ¡°The cost of electricity in Germany is no longer competitive and is threatening our economy. If the proportion of unstable energy in the German energy structure continues to increase, the demand for electricity imports or self-produced fossil energy will increase. This is a vicious cycle that will lead to catastrophic dependence. Nuclear power can replace coal-fired power generation without jeopardizing the security of power supply.¡±