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this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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Turning off nuclear power has been decided by both the CDU and the FDP in 2011, when the Fukusima nuclear power plant was hit with a tsunami. The remaining last nuclear power plants in Germany were supposed to be shut down in 2022. Because of the war in Ukraine it was decided that they were switched off a few months later than originally planned, to help to get through winter.
Edit: spelling
Also the plants were sheduled tobgo offline around that time since the early 2000s. Only because the CDU and FDP expanded the runtime and stiffled the upscaling of renewables, but then decided to roll back the extension bc. of Fukushima, we are now at the place we are at. Ofc. the renewables were not put back on track but systematically blocked by the government, which is why we still have so much coal.
And it cost us a couple billions to roll back on the original plan and then again roll back on the roll back.
Yeah the talk to keep them running longer was pure populism without facts behind the words. The required safety certifications were running out and you need to order uranium way in advance. So just keep them running was not a simple option.
In this summer the renewable usage is on record highs and the energy prices from renewables on record lows.
The mistake was indeed not heavily investing in renewables before.
Additionally, they didn't undergo inspection anymore, are old and have no fuel, not even the companies running those wanted to continue. It would've been costly to keep them running, it might've not worked at all and not helped the high energy prices. But still, FDP and CDU managed to put the blame for their wrong decisions onto the greens.
Why do people still talk about high energy prices as if this a problem now? The prices are lower than when the war started
Because Putin's propaganda is just that effective. Give europeans a reason to bash Germany and they'll gladly gobble up whatever you tell them. The Kremlin has been spreading blatant lies about Germany's energy dependencies since 2021 in preperation of the invasion and internet users have been repeating those lies like a mantra ever since.
Just a couple of weeks ago Germany reduced coal power to the equivalent of shutting down several nuclear power plants as renewables generate more than enough power and prices are down to pre-war levels aswell. Besides, last year was the most profitable for energy utility companies in german history, meaning most of the price increases were simply exploitation of the narrative that "war makes energy price go up". Prices didn't need to go up nearly as much, but media couldn't shut up about their scewed narrative. I mean international media still can't shut up about it, apparently. In Germany, everyone knows we got screwed by corporate greed, not just the war.
I'll try to answer this, please consider that English is not my native language:
Yes the prices for energy have been decreased up to the point where it has been pre-war. But the energy providers don't forward the now lower prices to the end-customer immerdiately, because customers often have contracts with a certain energy pricing which are still running (usually you can escape a contract after one year). Also, people pay an anticipated payment each month. At the end of each year this anticipated payment is matched with what you really have to pay. This can lead to a discount (you get money back) or, in most cases, you have to pay an additional ammount. This happened to a majority of people because the energy priced have increased over the last years. So people have to pay more money for the same amount of energy consumption.
With that in mind, it is also encouraged that people are supposed to stop using natural gas or oil for heating their homes and are supposed to use air-to-air heat pumps or long-distance heating (heat is tranferred through a pipe into your house). This comes with a full refurbishment of your heating system. Simplified: you can't just throw out your old gas-heater and connect your pipes to a heat pump - you need to replace the heatings in your rooms among other things. This is very expensive. In the meantime the Gebäudeenergiegesetz or Heizungsgesetz ("Energy law for buildings" or "Heating law") will be changed to this situation. Beginning from 2024 all heating systems shall not be using natural gas or oil. The law couldn't be established before the parliament's summer break, so this will be done after the summer break. Affected people can get a sponsorship from a governments bank (KfW-Bank) for fitting their homes - but the law has to be there first. That's why people are hesitant at the moment. Also, people don't like changes, especially those who are old. They often say that for the 10 to 15 years they still live, it is not worth changing.
In Scandinavia it has been proven that the usage of air-to-air heat pumps can even withstand severe winters. But they started the transition years ago.
In conclusion:
Good summary, but let's put the blame where it belongs.
The conservatives of CDU and SPD are the ones who didn't push the transition, and often times even actively sabotaged it.
Your knowledge about the heating law is very wrong.
No. All NEW heating system need to use at least 65% (no an oil/heat pump combination is also possible) renewable energies. And there are exceptions for sudden repairs (I. E. The first couple of years you can still build in gas/oil).
I'll have to admit that you are right! However, the deadline for using gas or oil for the operation of heatings is Dec. 31st. 2044. From 2045 onward heating systems cannot be operated with gas or oil.
I am German, so I know most points. However a few things are not correct.
Yes, energy companies don't give you the lower energy prices directly, however we are also far after that point. Here is an overview of enery prices in germany: even new contracts are cheaper then before the war started.
https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/energiemonitor-deutschland-gaspreis-spritpreis-energieversorgung