Busting the carbon and cost myths of Germany's nuclear exit

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2012/may/23/energy-nuclear-power-germany


A control room plan of nuclear fuel rods at the former Rheinsberg nuclear power plant in Germany, which is being dismantled at a cost of €560. (Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

With the UK taking another step towards supporting new nuclear power on Tuesday – at either no extra cost to the consumer if you believe ministers, or substantial cost if you believe most others – it's worth taking a look at what actually happens when you phase out nuclear power in a large, industrial nation.

That is what Germany chose to do after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, closing eight plants immediately – 7GW - and another nine by 2022. The shrillest critics predicted blackouts, which was always daft and did not happen.

But more serious critics worried that the three things at the heart of the energy and climate change debate - carbon, cost and security of supply – would all head in the wrong direction. Here in Berlin, I have found they were wrong on every count.

On security of supply, critics predicted that Germany would have to import energy to make up that lost by the closure of the nuclear plants. It's an important issue for a nation that imports 70% of its energy. But what actually happened is that Germany simply exported less in 2011: 7TWh instead of 70TWh. "We are still a net exporter," says Franzjosef Schafhausen, a senior civil servant.