Why Germany Is Choosing Natural Gas Over Nuclear Power
The world is experiencing a nuclear renaissance. Uranium prices are soaring as the world snaps up nuclear fuel, public favor for nuclear power is at a 10-year high in the United States, Russia is busily expanding its own nuclear energy empire in emerging economies in Africa, and even Japan is moving back to the carbon-free energy source 13 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. All told, approximately 60 new nuclear reactors are currently under construction around the globe, and another 110 are in planning stages.
But there’s one major detractor to the new nuclear revolution. A year ago, Germany took its last three nuclear power plants offline. And it seems pretty clear that they won’t ever be bringing them back on. Germany’s staunch anti-nuclear stance is a surprising one in many ways. The European nation is an outspoken proponent of the green energy transition, but has opted to take away one of its most reliable forms of carbon-free energy production as a matter of higher priority than transitioning away from coal – the dirtiest fossil fuel.
