Why is Germany decommissioning their nuclear power plants if they require more Energy?
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While it likely was initially due to fear of a nuclear accident, my understanding is it wasn’t really fought because nuclear is surprisingly expensive to operate. It is dirt cheap in the fuel to output ratio but it requires a lot of specialized (meaning expensive) people to operate and maintain the system. It also consumes massive amounts of fresh water.
So while nuclear is a great choice compared to coal in terms of pollution, it isn’t a great choice compared to wind and solar in terms of installation, operation, and maintenance costs. Since solar and wind power are becoming cheaper and easier to install, continuing to fight about nuclear’s safety just wasn’t worth it. Or at least that is how I understood the situation.
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