In April last year, Germany abandoned the use of nuclear power after shutting down its last three nuclear power plants.
On the anniversary of stopping the use of this energy source, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE analyzed the current state of the country’s energy sector.
From April 2022 to April 2023, nuclear power plants in Germany produced 29.5 TWh (terawatt-hour) of electricity, which accounted for 6.3 per cent of the total net public production.
One year after this source was stopped being utilized, renewable energy sources have been constantly rising. Namely, from the moment nuclear energy was abolished until April of this year, about 270 TWh of renewable energy was produced, which is 33 TWh more compared to the same period last year. Regarding fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil, about 154.4 TWh of electricity was generated during the same period, representing a significant decrease compared to previous years.
More:
- FRENCH REACTORS TO SWITCH TO DOMESTIC RECYCLED URANIUM?
- SWEDEN TO LIFT URANIUM MINING BAN
- NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN FUKUSHIMA LEAKS THOUSANDS OF LITRES OF CONTAMINATED WATER
As stated in the Institute’s analysis, this was due to high prices of natural gas and solid coal, as well as high costs for CO2 certificates.
Another reason for reducing the use of fossil fuels is the import of electricity. However, it should be noted that this did not happen because Germany could not produce sufficient quantities of electricity but because electricity costs less in foreign markets in the summer of 2023. More precisely, during the summer, renewable power plants in Denmark, Norway and Sweden generated cheaper electricity, making German coal-fired power plants uncompetitive.
Finally, the grid load also dropped by 2.1 per cent. This was due to the industrial and private sectors saving electricity, the drop in production, and the increase in electricity consumption from solar systems.
The analysis concluded that the first year without nuclear energy showed that it could be replaced with success in Germany.
Energy Portal
