Why Germany Will Regret Its Nuclear Plant Shutdowns
While Germany is preparing to shut down the last of its nuclear power plants, the U.K., the Netherlands and Poland are aiming to build more.
Without these, decarbonizing becomes much harder.
Photo by: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg
At the end of 2021, in the middle of a European energy crisis which has pushed electricity costs to a record high, Germany defied critics by shutting down some of its last remaining nuclear power stations. Other countries, including Belgium and Spain are planning to follow suit in the next few years. Meanwhile, in the U.K., Rolls-Royce is seeking a location for a factory to make a fleet of small modular nuclear reactors. In the U.S., Senator Joe Manchin is pushing for tax credits to keep America's fleet of nuclear power stations open for longer.
What can be learned from the Europe’s experience with nuclear power? Bloomberg columnists Javier Blas, Andreas Kluth, Liam Denning and Jonathan Ford got together on Twitter Spaces to discuss more. Here is an edited and condensed transcription of their conversation.