German resistance to nuclear is a boon for the renewables of tomorrow

At first, Germany’s post-Fukushima policy on nuclear was criticized for slowing down the Energiewende — the transition from fossil fuels, notably coal, to renewables. Enthusiasm for atomic energy was at a global low in 2011 after the most striking nuclear disaster in 25 years. Quick to forget, Germany’s neighbour France is gungho on building new reactors while China has plans to more than double the world’s nuclear capacity. Proponents are eager to brush the issue of radioactive waste disposal under the rug with arguments like: We keep using the feedstock over and over and when we get rid of it, we store it securely. How securely? Who knows.

Now, critics are quick to point out that the Germans need the very reactors they are decommissioning to reduce their over-reliance Russian gas exposed by the war in Ukraine. While this is true, it is a short-sighted analysis.

In the long run, Germany will continue to lead on renewables like solar — which it championed until China threw its weigh behind a similar but more aggressive economic policy. For the country of innovators and engineers, restructuring its gas dependence presents a massive opportunity. Thanks to Germany’s anti-nuclear stance, hydrogen is likely to go mainstream sooner.