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The main threat here is climate change. Nuclear plants are an excellent low CO2 alternative to traditional baseline power.
We can handle the waste. We can’t handle a 3c climate change bump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository
You're right about climate change. But for Germany, nuclear power is not the awnser.
For us, it is way more cost efficient, faster and safer to invest in solar, wind and battery's.
I live in Germany. I don’t understand the “no space” argument. Just buy a 1km x 1km farm plot in Bayern at one of the known stable rock locations and dig down. The space is there. The footprint is small. Look at the Onkalo site. The above ground footprint is even smaller.
This being said I think long term storage should be a EU level agenda modeled after the Finnish Onkalo model with shared locations.
Germany is already dependent on importing energy sources. So importing uranium ore from Canada is no different. Except we would import from an ally. Even solar which I support requires imports. Wind less so but even then our wind turbines are only partially domestic.
As far as reopening closed plants yah. You are right. I don’t think that is easy to reopen them after such neglect. The short term answer is to buy low CO2 power from France while Germany continues its renewable path. Aka nuclear base energy by proxy.
Also german here, neighbour to the proud bavarians. Haha „just buy“ and open a site in the kingdom of Markus and the CSU? There may be a Endlager in Germany, but never in Bavaria.
lol. Politically it may be difficult but technically should be easier. I only mentioned Bavaria because several of the known stable sites are there.
https://www.bge.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Standortsuche/Wesentliche_Unterlagen/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete_-_Englische_Fassung_barrierefrei.pdf
Unfortunately the decisions here are not made rationally
The same France that constantly buys electricity from Germany because of constant issues with their nuclear powerplants?
I’m afraid it is rather the opposite. Sometimes Germany exports electricity to France, but most of the time it is the contrary.
“ France has been an exporter on all its borders: a very strong exporter on the borders with Germany and Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Great Britain”
https://analysesetdonnees.rte-france.com/bilan-electrique-2024/echanges#Detailparfrontiere
It's a back and forth, yes. Though quite often the cause for France needing an urgent power injection is issues with their nuclear powerplants. With ever hotter and drier summers leaving powerplants with little to no water as coolant and the aging buildings requiring more and more maintenance.
I can't find the article right now but sometime late last year Germany had its yearly "Dunkelflaute" scare (Dunkelflaute refers to a time when neither sun is shining nor wind blowing for renewables) and it turned out during this exact timeframe we even exported to France because of troubles with their reactors.
In 2025 France exported 31TWh to Germany and Belgium and imported 4TWh. I would say the issue with nuclear is that it cannot follow load changes quickly and therefore needs other sources to compensate peaks. There has been a time a few years ago with maintenance issues you are right. However right now it is available at 85% which is a high score. In comparison today, a cloudy day, only 14-20% of solar and wind renewables are producing power.
Availability values here: https://analysesetdonnees.rte-france.com/en/generation/generation-availability
Yes, nuclear reactors can't do load balancing. However they can neither meet basic demand when they have to be stopped because of a lack of coolant or for repairs.
The ideal solution would be a EU wide low CO2 approach. All countries will experience issues. All countries should have low CO2 base and peak power solutions that can be exchanged in such times.
You can not just dig down anywhere. You need the right kind of rock and in a formation large enough that you can dig down and be sure, that no water can ever touch the nuclear waste and transport the nuclear material to the surface. That geology is pretty rarer.
This is true and why I think it should be a EU sponsored agenda. This being said a small plot with the right type of rock/location is not so rare it can not be found in all of the EU. We know this for a fact.
I suspect such a site could also be found in Germany. I mentioned Bayern just because there has been a large study done already that found several durable candidates.
https://www.bge.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Standortsuche/Wesentliche_Unterlagen/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete_-_Englische_Fassung_barrierefrei.pdf
It's not about the space it takes to store the waste. It needs to be stored safely for one million years for the radiation levels to be safe again. This timeframe is also required by law. It is very unlikely, that we will ever finds such place in Germany.
Using another countrys storage will most likely come at an even higher price, because they want to make a profit on it on top.
See argument above. And: I live in Bavaria. And no thanks, even if it would be possible to store it here, we don't want it. I guess no one wants a nuclear waste facility anywhere near his home and I fully understand it. That's another kinda unsolvable problem.
Yeah, but just because things are going that way right now doesn't mean they always have to. Quite the contrary. The Russian war clearly showed us that dependencies like these should be completely reduced as fast as possible. Why be dependent on someone, if you don't have to.
Yes, some raw materials and some parts I would guess. This is the same with nuclear. But the difference starts by operating them. We don't need a "fuel" for solar panals or wind turbines to work.
We have known good locations in Germany that could be used. I only mention that location because a good amount of the sites are there. This all being said an EU policy based approach would be better than just Germany.
This is the study that shows the good locations in Germany.
https://www.bge.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Standortsuche/Wesentliche_Unterlagen/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete_-_Englische_Fassung_barrierefrei.pdf
Except we can't handle the waste. At least not in Germany where we move it between temporary storage locations until we find a permanent one soon™️ and are shocked that due to improper storage the containers are rusting.
Can you move a 3C temperature increase to a temporary storage location?
Mate, don't ask me, ask those NIMBYs. For what it's worth if the German state wants to rent the cellar below my flat I am fine with it.
Politically I agree it may be difficult.
We can handle the waste. We have built permanent locations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository
As for where we build locations I think a EU lead agenda modeled off the Onkalo approach would be best.
The second best would be for Germany to build its own long term storage facility under the same model at one of the several identified good locations.
https://www.bge.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Standortsuche/Wesentliche_Unterlagen/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete/Zwischenbericht_Teilgebiete_-_Englische_Fassung_barrierefrei.pdf