Germany Will End Use Of Nuclear Power For Renewable Energy

Atomkraftwerk Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Neckar

Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant

In the wake of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, Germany has decided it will move away from nuclear power. Germany is no small player in nuclear power with 17 reactors providing 23 percent of it power needs.

Germany plans to transition completely away from nuclear power and replace that need with renewable energy sources. While Germany obtains less than one quarter of its energy needs from nuclear, France relies on nuclear power for 70 percent of its energy. It would not be easy for France to replace nuclear and it has no intention of doing so. The United States gets 20 percent of it power from nuclear from 104 nuclear reactors located in plants around the country.,

To be honest this is a bold decision as nuclear power has a laudable safety record, but those instances of crisis have been grand. An article by the Associated Press titled “Germany set to abandon nuclear power for good” details Germany’s planned migration. The article even quotes how much easier the switch would be if Germany had some of the advantages of certain areas of the United States with sun and wind.

Nuclear power has not been very popular in Germany after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster spread radioactive material over Germany. This is an example of how politics are affected by events around the world and managed to push a nation in a new direction.