Germany shuts last remaining nuclear plants

Germany shuts down last remaining nuclear plants

Germany

BERLIN, April 18, 2023 – Germany has switched off its last three nuclear reactors, officially ending atomic power generation in the country, the asset operators reported on Saturday.

The plants consist of the Isar 2 reactor in the southeast of the country, the Neckarwestheim facility in the southwest and Emsland in the northwest.

All three plants were shut by midnight on Saturday.

The facilities provided around 6% of Germany’s overall electricity capacity in 2022.

The original plan was to decommission all nuclear facilities by 2022, but the target was moved up due to a shortage of Russian gas supplies.

Europe’s largest economy has pushed to end nuclear power generation in its energy mix since 2002, a plan that was accelerated in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

The country plans to become fully reliant on renewable energy by 2035.