German expert says UK support for nuclear will hurt renewables

• 12 years ago (2011-11-29)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1089 Nuclear 659 Renewables 776

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Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Environmental Protection Agency in Germany and adviser to the German government during its nuclear phase-out, has defended the policy and said the UK’s continuing support for nuclear will hurt its domestic wind and solar industry.

He claims that building new nuclear power stations will divert funds and make it harder for the UK to switch to renewable energy source, potentially leaving it far behind Germany on green energy.

The UK government is currently planning to build eight new nuclear plants in addition to increasing the amount of wind power in its energy portfolio. Germany, by contrast, hopes to be nuclear free by 2022.

"We are not missionaries, and every country will have to find its own way in energy policy, but it is obvious that nuclear plants are too inflexible and cannot sufficiently respond to variations in wind or solar generation; only gas [power stations] do," said Flasbarth in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

Despite this, he praised Germany's own nuclear policy, saying it would be easier than critics think: "The phase-out is doable and I don't expect unsolvable problems... I wonder why Germany feels the pressure to defend its decision, but not the countries who stick to nuclear energy, which has been proved to be unsustainable."

Responding to comments about future power shortages during the transition from nuclear he said: "During the last month, there was no need for electricity imports due to capacity shortfalls in Germany. Short-term imports were merely market-driven".

Stephan Kohler, head of the German Energy Agency, has called the phase-out’s green credentials into question, arguing that it contradicts the government's carbon-cutting efforts as more coal will be burned as a result of the policy.

Head of energy company RWE, Juergen Grossman, also disagrees with Flasbarth’s assessment, instead predicting increased energy prices and an apathetic attitude from conventional power companies in Germany. "The de-industralisation won't come all at once. It will be a gradual process", he said.

Flasbarth attempted to allay such fears though, claiming consumers will not suffer due to the new, admittedly popular, policy direction. "We will have a slight increase during the next ten years in renewables while our energy infrastructure will be refurbished, but no expert has stated that prices rise more than 5 per cent. The renewable track is economically the best one. The energy intensive industry is actually privileged, i.e they pay lower energy taxes and get direct and indirect subsidies", he said.