Öko-Institut e.V.: Goodbye, nuclear power - Unsustainable, uneconomical and high-risk

Editorial

[Translate to Englisch:] Jan Peter Schemmel, Sprecher der Geschäftsführung des Öko-Instituts

Arguments for the future

Editorial by Jan Peter Schemmel, CEO, Oeko-Institut

In Fukushima, there was core meltdown after an earthquake a good 10 years ago. In Zaporizhzhia, Russia’s war of aggression puts a nuclear power plant at risk. Meanwhile, France was forced to shut down its reactors in summer. The reasons? Sudden hairline fractures and a lack of cooling water due to the heatwaves. Is nuclear power really safe and reliable?

There are good reasons why a (second) decision to phase out nuclear power was taken in Germany. Safety is one of the most important…

Arguments for the future

In Focus

A twilight technology

Nuclear power in Germany: a retrospective

When West Germany opened its first research reactor in Garching near Munich in 1957, nuclear energy still enjoyed broad cross-party support. However, the first protests which followed just a few years later – against the Würgassen reactor in 1968, for example – attested to the already controversial nature of this form of power generation. Major accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 also highlighted the potential dangers of nuclear power for humankind. There are many…

A twilight technology

No renaissance

The future of nuclear energy

The conversation went quiet for some time. However, the increasingly palpable effects of climate change and, not least, the impacts of the war in Ukraine on energy markets have rekindled the debate about nuclear power. There are calls in many quarters – expected and unexpected – for the use of this technology to continue, for lifetimes to be extended and even for new reactors to be built. But is renewing our reliance on nuclear power really worthwhile? What can we learn by looking…

No renaissance

“The land of nuclear lunacy”

Interview with Yves Marignac (Association négaWatt)

France relies on nuclear energy for around 67% of its electricity — more than any other European country. However, nuclear energy use in France is by no means trouble-free: in summer of 2022, nuclear power plants discharged hot water from their cooling systems into already overheated rivers, and in September, 32 reactors were offline for maintenance and other reasons, putting energy supply security at risk. Yves Marignac is an expert on the French energy market and Head of…

“The land of nuclear lunacy”