“Farewell to the nuclear lie”

With wind and solar power revolutionising energy systems in many countries, the world is currently witnessing a development that would have been written off as “wishful thinking by idealistic fools” just a few years ago, Thorsten Knuf writes in Frankfurter Rundschau. Coal and nuclear power “are not quite finished yet” but their end is beginning to show on the horizon, Knuf argues. The current state of nuclear power especially illustrates the ongoing transition, as the average age of plants around the world is on the rise and investors are reluctant to brush up the reactors, “secretly knowing that the money is better spent on wind or solar farms” he says. Germany’s 2022 nuclear exit will therefore only be the prelude to many more countries finishing off nuclear power since its inherent lie becomes apparent: “It’s neither safe nor cheap and it does not make a country independent,” Knuf says.

For background, see the CLEW dossier The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out.