Nuclear plant shutdown will boost wind energy in northern German state – env min

The shutdown of the last nuclear power plant in Schleswig-Holstein will boost wind power in the northern German state, its environment minister Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens) expects. "Nuclear power is clogging our grids, especially in the direction of the south," Albrecht told press agency dpa in an article carried by Focus Online. Due to grid bottlenecks, offshore wind turbines would have to be switched off in some cases. "The importance of nuclear power as a whole is therefore overestimated,” he added. After the shutdown of the nuclear plant at the end of this year, the north of Germany could cover 160 percent of its electricity needs with renewable energy and there will be more wind power exports to the south, Albrecht said. Fears of power blackouts due to the nuclear phaseout are unfounded, he said. "After all, we will continue to massively expand renewable energies in Germany now. In the future, we will not be dependent on nuclear power being generated in France."

Germany will shutter its last nuclear power plant at the end of next year, concluding a decades-long struggle by the anti-nuclear movement that gave rise to the Green Party and other environmental groups in the 1980s. In a recent survey, a slight majority of Germans said the country should not rule out using nuclear energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, nuclear reactor operators and policymakers have repeatedly made clear in recent months that the country does not plan to return to using nuclear power or even delay the phase-out.