Germany shuts down last nuclear power plant
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https://insiderpaper.com/germany-to-switch-off-last-remaining-nuclear-plants/
Germany will shut down its three remaining nuclear plants on Saturday, betting that it can fulfil its green ambitions without atomic power despite the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war.
The cloud of white steam that has risen since 1989 over the river in Neckarwestheim, near Stuttgart, will soon be a distant memory, as will the Isar 2 complex in Bavaria and the Emsland plant in the north.
At a time when many Western countries are ramping up nuclear power in their transition to greener energy sources, Europe’s biggest economy is resolutely sticking to its plans — though not everyone is in agreement.
Germany has been looking to phase out nuclear power since 2002, but the decision was accelerated by former chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011 after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Fukushima showed that “even in a high-tech country like Japan, the risks of nuclear energy cannot be safely controlled”, Merkel said at the time.
A few days later...