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| Fig. 1: Nuclear and Renewable Consumption 2011-2021. [3] (Image Source: N. Roy) |
In the early 2000s, Germany embarked on a journey to phase out nuclear energy, a decision that reverberated globally and sparked intense debates on the future of energy policy. A concrete plan, enacted in 2010, was known as Energiewende and symbolized a paradigm shift in energy strategy which necessitated a rapid and comprehensive transition towards alternative sources to meet the nation's energy demand. Then following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in 2011, Germany enacted a series of legislative measures to gradually decommission its nuclear power plants and increase reliance on renewable sources of energy. Consequently, the subsequent years witnessed a remarkable surge in renewable energy investments and technological advancements, transforming Germany into a leader in the adoption of green technologies.
German energy policy has had two broad objectives related to renewables and nuclear energy:
In Energiewende, Germany made its objective to grow renewables to meet certain target benchmarks in the next decades. The objective put to the test here will be the goal, detailed in the Energiewende policy document, by 2020 to generate 35% of gross electricity from renewable sources. [1]
The Energiewende document stated its goal to use Nuclear energy as a bridging technology as the economy made the gradual shift to renewable sources of energy. This involved increasing the lifespan of existing German nuclear plants by 12 years, allowing a transitional period where renewables could grow supported by nuclear power. However due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, further legislation required the speeding up of this phasing out. An amendment to the Atomic Energy Act made in August 2011 made the objective to phase out the last nuclear plant by 31 December 2022. [1,2]
As shown in the Fig.1, the quantity of electricity generated from renewables grew significantly in the decade 2011- 2021. The efforts to achieve this growth were detailed in the Energiewende policy document. [1] Growth in renewables was to be achieved by focusing on a number of key areas, mainly the cost-effectiveness of renewables, on- and off-shore wind farming, and the efficient use of bio-energy. Additionally, the phasing out of nuclear power was to be done in a way that created financing opportunities for renewables projects through tax structures created within the plan. [1] To look at the numbers, in 2020 Germany generated 571.9 TWh of electricity, out of which 232.4 TWh was generated via renewables. [2] This represents 40.63% of the total, surpassing the original objective of 35% of total coming from renewables, representing a completion of an Energiewende project milestone.
Fig.1 also shows the trend in German nuclear power from 2011-2021. Germany failed to phase out nuclear power completely by the end of 2022. The last German nuclear power plant was instead shut down in April 2023. This extra stretch of nuclear generation was most likely a result of the energy crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, leading to a shortage of natural gas and a need for additional sources of energy. However, this complete decommissioning of all nuclear power represented a milestone in energy legislation and executive action in Germany.
Despite the evident success in meeting its objectives, Energiewende has faced a number of criticisms. Chief amongst these is the adverse effects on power stability, due to the intermittent nature of renewables such as wind and solar. In 2019, the German association of local utilities VKU released a statement that the strategy could create problems for power stability given non-existent energy storage infrastructure in Germany. [4]
Another critique is how denuclearisation may have had an adverse impact on the climate goals of Energiewende. A study published in 2013 simulated scenarios of denuclearization and found that the phased-out nuclear energy would mainly be replaced by coal. The share of gas in electricity generation would increase as well. They also concluded that phasing out nuclear power would increase the CO2-intensity of German electricity generation. [5]
In conclusion, it can be seen that Germany's progressive energy policy Energiewende, coupled with stringent legislation to de-nuclearise, has had significant impacts on the energy landscape of the country. Renewables have seen drastic growth in the decade 2011 onwards, while nuclear fell sharply and has been decommissioned completely as of 2023. While this energy policy has been successful in meeting a number of its goals, it has had repercussions in terms of stability of power supply, energy storage costs and has caused concern regarding its climate impact.
© Neel Roy. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Energy Concept," German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, September 2010 ["Energiekonzept"].
[2] "Gesetz über die friedliche Verwendung der Kernenergie und den Schutz gegen ihre Gefahren (Atomgesetz)," Bundesministerium der Justiz, Dezember 2022 ["Law on the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy and Protection Against Its Dangers"].
[3] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy," British Petroleum, (2021, 2022).
[4] V. Eckert, "Does Renewables Pioneer Germany Risk Running Out of Power?," Reuters, 19 Jul 19.
[5] K. Bruninx et al., "Impact of the German Nuclear Phase-Out on Europe's Electricity Generation - A Comprehensive Study," Energy Policy 60, 251 (2013).