Three nuclear power plants will be disconnected from the grid in Germany on Friday as part of the country's plan to abandon nuclear energy, writes the European edition of Politico. The other three will be eliminated by the end of 2022.
"The phasing out of nuclear energy makes our country safer and helps avoid radioactive waste," said Federal Minister for the Environment and Nuclear Safety Steffi Lemke.
"It is now essential to ... make progress in finding a final repository for high-level radioactive waste, as well as permanent solutions for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste," the environment ministry said.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accelerated phasing out following the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan.
Friday's shutdown affects the Brockdorf power plants in Schleswig-Holstein, Gronde in Lower Saxony and Gundremingen C in Bavaria.
The other three nuclear power plants in Germany - Emsland in Lower Saxony, Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckervestheim 2 in Baden-Wuerttemberg - will be closed "at the latest" by the end of 2022, the Ministry of the Environment said.
"Since 2011, Germany has been drawing a line under extremely problematic technology in an orderly and reliable process," Lemke said.
Nuclear energy accounts for about 10 percent of Germany's electricity production. The shutdown has drawn criticism as Germany will have to drastically increase renewable energy and also increase its dependence on highly polluting energy from coal.
"Security of supply in Germany continues to be guaranteed," said Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Climate and Economy. He added that reliable and "sustainably generated electricity" is "a central requirement for bringing our economy and industry to climate neutrality".
This position puts Berlin in conflict with France, where nuclear energy is the largest element of its energy mix (and also helps supply Germany).
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in September that existing nuclear power plants, which provide low-carbon electricity essential for the green transition, could continue to operate "for two, five, 10 years", adding: "Why are we losing this production capacity? ”
France plans to reduce the share of nuclear energy in its electricity mix from 75% to 50% by 2035, but President Emmanuel Macron said in November that France would "restart nuclear reactor construction" while continuing to develop renewables. energy ".
Macron also said France would invest 1 billion euros in research and development, especially in small modular reactors.
Belgium recently decided to close all its nuclear power plants by 2025, but plans to invest 100 million euros in nuclear reactors and next-generation research.
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