hephaistos

NEW GERMANY RESTART REPORT: Restarting up to 18.7 gigawatts of Germany’s nuclear fleet is technically feasible, cost-effective, and supported by a majority of Germans. Germany has an untapped energy resource at a scale matched nowhere else in the West. Per capita, the nuclear capacity Germany could add this decade is nearly an order of magnitude greater than what China is planning to. Despite the nuclear phaseout, German law already allows work to begin on reactor restarts as long as the electricity is not sold before the law is changed. In @RadiantEnergyG's most in-depth analysis of Germany’s reactor restart opportunity to date, we find that this program would be: FAST: 5 reactors could be returned to service in less than 5 years, 14 reactors total in under a decade. COST-EFFECTIVE: Every reactor studied could produce electricity well below current wholesale prices in Germany. With public financing, these plants could significantly undercut the inflation‑adjusted average of the 2010s. CHEAPER THAN NEWBUILDS: The cost to bring back the 5 easiest-to-restart reactors is cheaper than any single Western nuclear newbuild currently under construction. SUPPORTED BY THE PUBLIC: 61% of Germans support making use of existing nuclear in Germany, nearly three times the 22% who favor a complete phaseout and ban. The missing ingredient remains political will. In our conversations with the German Energy Minister, it was clear that with the right information, including a sober, accurate picture of what's actually possible, there's real interest in saving this energy supply. Now, German nuclear industry leaders, several of whom informed our analysis, are urging support for restarts. In a letter sent to Chancellor Merz and members of Parliament, the authors wrote that “reactivating German nuclear power is technically a possible and sensible option,” attaching Radiant Energy Group's report for reference. Germany once had one of the finest nuclear programs in the world. As more countries across the West recommit themselves to expanding nuclear, Germany has a unique chance to rebuild that expertise while directly addressing the energy cost and supply security issues it's facing.