The move to renewables in Germany slowed down drastically since the mid 2010s. Largely due to bad policy, not cost development.

In German, but look e.g. at the third graph in https://www.wind-energie.de/themen/zahlen-und-fakten/deutsch... . Shows the total and newly installed wind power (better than the second graph showing the number of new turbines, because turbines have gotten bigger).

For solar, look at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/29264/umfrage... the numbers for 2020/2021 unfortunately are missing. They're better, but by far not back to 2010-2012.

Sorry, what? If we hadn’t any renewables at all, we would be even MORE dependent on Russian gas.

Yes, if you had no renewables, but closed coal and nuclear plant anyway, you’d be more dependent on Russian gas, sure.

Yeah but shutting down nuclear power after Fukushima is akin to jumping of a building in Germany, because these was a tsunami in Jagan.

Fukushima was the latest but hardly the only incident. One of them caused fallout all across Europe. Hint: it was just occupied by Russian forces.

Chernobyl was like 1980-ies. And there is a huge difference between gross negligence and two simultaneous natural disasters.

Not in terms of how it motivates leaving nuclear power. If anything, it shows that it happens, due to vastly different causes, no matter how apparently impossible.

The nuclear plants were closed in response Fukushima, not their perceived danger.

Plus Germany's car industry is joined at the hip with ICE. If you waved a magic wand and made Germany's car industry electric hundreds of highly specialized parts for internal combustion engines.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/germany-electric-vehicles-eu...

I’m trying to understand what you’re trying to say, but I can’t. Nuclear is shut down because of some platonic ideal of what ‘Fukushima’ may mean, and not by their perceived threat? And German car manufacturers building ICE has what relation to that? And then you swivel to electric cars?

Edit: Removed snark.

How is it hard to comprehend?

German government decided to shut down nuclear power plant in response to protests after Fukushima disaster.

I'm confused about the completely unrelated and nonsensical second part of your post.

Also, your statement that it is in response to Fukushima, but somehow not about the perceived danger of nuclear power, makes no sense.

And the RBMK reactors are a 1950s design.

Thank god. Finally someone proved that nuclear is safe and no accidents can happen.

Yeah because what happened 40+ years ago with Soviet Union military technology is totally what should guide current day policy because they both have 'nuclear' in the name.

What hasn't changed are the disproportionate consequences should disaster strike, and the emergent tendencies of energy utilities towards corruption, incompetence, and corner cutting.

Eventually somebody running a plant will screw up, and when they do, the harm will be worse than a wind tower falling over.

You're replying to a post that lists Fukushima.

I was under the impression that Germany primarily relies on gas for home heating, and not for electricity generation, and that this is what makes gas less replaceable in Germany's situation.

Targeted investment in improved insulation and heat pumps should help remedy this issue, if they can pull it off. It will also help with the inevitable future heat waves, given that heat pumps also can act as cooling systems when home temperature needs become reversed during the summer.

Germany has installed renewables, has shuttered nuclear power and increased gas usage.

If it had only installed renewables and also kept nuclear power, the situation would be a lot better.

You have no way of accounting though for the possible cost of keeping old nuclear plants running. A single accident, dirty bomb, etc etc. would instantly change the equation. Even with the current conflict we see how strategic the Cherynobyl site instantly became because of the additional risk factors.

For greenhouse gas emissions and this situation with Russia

I'm sure there's some connection somewhere between the german greens and the Kremlin to help sabotage their grid by pushing more gas. That was a very smart move on Putin's side.

It's nice to finally see the slap in the face of the German grid policy that everyone was predicting 10 years ago, I'm just sad that so many lives had to be taken and will be taken just so that they finally start to get it.

Are you saying that Germany's situation, which seems to have confounding factors, completely refutes the objective price of different energy sources?

The problem is that Germany replaced nuclear with (more) gas. Renewables, if anything, made them a bit less dependent.

Every country in the world is moving to renewable, Germany is not special at all.

Why?

One thing has nothing to do with the other.

Germany is pushing for renewable and has not transitioned to it.

It is depending on Russia for 30% or so in gas. It has this problem because the transition is not done and Fukushima pushed the faster end of nuclear power.

Which is understandable when you remember Tschernobyl and how dense populated Germany is.

I drive by isar nuclear power plant by train since I remember. While it looks interesting it's also frightening when you see how little real knowledge or excercise anyone had when Tschernobyl happened and when Fukushima happened.

Why do you mention Chernobyl and Fukushima together? Fukushima basically only did some economic damage, Chernobyl was a catastrophe.

Also given how densely populated Germany is, it's wildly irresponsible that they operate so many coal plants, it's literally killing thousands every year. Even if they had a Chernobyl style disaster every 10 years it would still be a lot safer than the way they're generating power right now.

> Why do you mention Chernobyl and Fukushima together? Fukushima basically only did some economic damage, Chernobyl was a catastrophe.

Both Chernobyl and Fukushima were disasters.

It just so happened that Fukushima also was the final straw.

I agree. Statistics are not self evident. If you want to live a long life, build a nuclear power plant, don't smoke and wait for the lights before crossing.

Similarly, there was a person eaten by a shark at my local beach last week. Everyone is asking 'how can you swim?'. The last death by a shark was 1963.

The dislike for nuclear goes further back and is related to the cold war and nuclear weapons.

And they are very non rational about it. Arguments are based on emotion, not reason.

Turning of existing working plants and replacing them with more coal is borderline insane.

In my opinion Germany would be much better of today if they had invested huge amount of money in nuclear plants instead of transitioning to renewables.