Germany’s reliance on Russian gas means sanctions may never work: ‘Will always import’

At present, Prof. Hanselka explained, Germany has three nuclear fission power plants still remaining in operation of the 17 it utilised up until early 2011 with three other plants shut down for good in the January of this year.

Plans to phase out the nation’s nuclear facilities have been in motion since 1998, with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel setting out a deadline of this year for completion in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

In 2021, the three outstanding nuclear stations — Emsland, Isar II and Neckarwestheim II — produced a total of around 33 terawatt hours of electricity.

This is compared to 90 terawatt hours from natural gas, 54 from coal and 77 from Russian coal and gas, or twice that produced by the nuclear stations.

Given this, Prof. Hanselka said, even if Germany were to reverse its moratorium on nuclear power, “the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants still on the grid would be a contribution [towards replacing Russian fuel], but far from a solution.”

It remains to be seen how accepting the country will be towards the potential of fusion-based nuclear power facilities in the future.

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1595094/german-reliance-russian-fuel-hamstring-west-putin-response-ukraine-energy