Germans Protest Shuttering Of Nation’s Last Nuclear Plants

Germany’s green bureaucracy won the war as the nation’s three remaining nuclear power plants were shut down for good over the weekend, but it did not go unopposed.

Multiple protests across the country marked the occasion as Europe’s largest economy turned its back on what once supplied one-quarter of its energy. Citizens took to the streets denouncing the move in Berlin and Munich on Saturday.

The day marked the end of the German nuclear era, but the three facilities reportedly had already been wound down in recent days. This was done to prepare for the ceremonial disconnection from the nation’s power grid, likely forever.

Atomic power advocate organization Nuklearia supported Saturday’s demonstrations. In a statement, the group said, “Even if Germany shuts down its last nuclear power plants, ignoring science and the majority of voters,” the plants may be reactivated.

This, the statement emphasized, could deliver clean electricity to the country for many decades to come.

The country’s six-decade commitment to nuclear power ended after years of left-wing protests that sputtered briefly during the Ukraine war. The energy crisis and spike in costs temporarily led to a bounce in support for retaining the facilities, but that did not last.

Far left supporters of the total retreat from nuclear power extolled the virtues of a new era of dependence on renewable energy sources. The timing of the claims is suspicious, to say the least.

Germany and much of Europe is gripped by an energy crisis brought on in large part by their rejection of imports from Russia. This was spurred by last year’s invasion of Ukraine by Moscow, and the continent is just now emerging from a long winter of skyrocketing costs and low supplies.

Green technologies, of course, have not kept up with the demand exacerbated by the lack of regularly available Russian shipments.

Polls show the German public is hardly rallying behind the left-wing government. Almost 60% of the nation’s citizens believe that the complete eradication of nuclear energy is not a smart decision, compared to only 34% who see it as the proper course of action.

The lack of reliable energy sources in Germany led to dramatically higher costs for businesses, and it is difficult to see the rejection of nuclear power doing anything other than making the situation worse. Operating costs for companies skyrocketed in the last year, and that trend is likely to continue.