Multiple protests took place as Germany’s green government shut down the country’s three remaining nuclear power plants forever.
Protests took place in Berlin and Munich on Saturday against the imminent shutdown of Germany’s final three nuclear power plants.
The three reactors are all that’s left of Germany’s fleet of atom-fueled power generators, with the country’s green-agenda-loving government set to see the plants cease operation forever shortly before midnight local time.
According to a report by Tagesschau, the three remaining reactors — Meiler Isar 2 in Bavaria, Emsland in Lower Saxony and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg — have already been wound down by power companies over the last number of days, and will soon be ready to be disconnected from the country’s power grid.
They will then be completely shut down after the disconnection, likely never to be fired up again.
Such an end to nuclear in Germany is being celebrated by the country’s hardline political left, with the ruling Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) holding a “nuclear phase-out festival” in Munich to mark the day.
This pro-government demo did not go unopposed however, with pro-nuclear protests also being held in Munich, as well as under the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
“Even if Germany shuts down its last nuclear power plants, ignoring science and the majority of voters: Our nuclear power plants can be reactivated and can continue to supply clean electricity for many decades,” pro-atomic power organisation Nuklearia reportedly said, backing the Saturday demonstrations.
Meanwhile, officials from within the country’s green agenda-loving government have insisted that the end of nuclear power will mark the beginning of an era of renewables in Germany.
Such a claim is hard to believe considering the country is already in the midst of a major energy crisis, with green technologies already failing to pick up the slack left by Russian oil and gas that has ceased to be regularly available since the invasion of Ukraine.
Most people in Germany do not think the shutdown is a good idea either, with nearly 60 per cent of the public thinking that getting rid of nuclear power right now is a mistake, compared to a mere 34 per cent who see it as a good thing.
Some groups have even warned that the shutdown will lead to energy shortages that further harm businesses in the country that have already seen their operating costs spiral alongside rising energy prices.
“Despite the drop in gas prices, energy costs remain high for most companies in Germany,” German Chamber of Industry and Commerce President Peter Adrian warned earlier in the week, emphasising that the country was not “out of the woods” in terms of securing its power supply.