Why Germany Hates Nuclear Power

I am once against asking you to watch the entire video before commenting.

Nuclear’s defamation may just be the greatest thing that the coal lobby has ever gotten through

One important note regarding aging nuclear reactors. Before a nuclear reactor start operating the power plant has to get a license from the country's nuclear regulatory authority to operate it for a fixed number of years, let's say 20 years. Before this license expires the plant has to make a choice to renew the license or decommission the reactor. If they choose the former option they have to prove to the regulators that the reactor can safely operate for the next period, let's say another 20 years, which includes upgrading control and safety systems, replacing aging equipment, doing extensive inspections on critical components, etc. Just because a reactor is 40+ years it doesn't mean it only conforms to safety standards from 40 years ago.

France did not fight to label natural gaz as green. Germany did that.

People tend to forget that Germany is one of the safest countries for nuclear Powerplants. No majpr environmental Problems (like Tsunamis). One of the highest Safety standarts in the world,... it just doesnt make sense for the "green" Party to shut the worlds most advanced nuclear Reactors while, 3km behind the French border, there is one of the oldest Nuclear plants in the World (Tihange) for ex.

Hi there - French-trained nuclear engineering graduate here. A great, balanced video as always. There was one detail that I think needs clarifying though. The cracking did not happen because the reactors were old. In fact, it happened in the younger, “N4” type reactors. In the case of the Penly-1 reactor (the one in which the crack you mentioned happened) the previous welds done beside the crack were likely improperly heat treated when done, leading to internal stress in the pipe, causing the crack. So case of bad workmanship and/or lack of quality control rather than ageing.

One day the anti-nuclear folks will have to answer for setting us back in the fight for decarbonization.

There are a few german political specifics missing. The first phase out was planned similar to what you named as the "middle way". A slow reduction of nuclear power, while ramping up renewable power. The problem was than reversing this plan and later making a new phase out which had no real plan behind it (the one Merkel is responsible for). Instead the renewable industry was systematically destroyed (Germany was leading in the tech for solar and wind energy before Merkel) and a switch to natural gas was favoured (with massiv lobbying). When they than relized that was a shit idea, both from the view of climate change and the dependency to dictatorships like russia, it was to late for both ways. Going back to a slow nuclear phase out was not possible anymore and the the renewable energy was also not build up good and fast enough.

To add two points: a) the nuclear power plants was always state of the art of this generation, they were continously updated. b) the generation was among other choosen by FJ Strauss, 'cause he speculated at atomic weapons. So the NucPowPlants wasn't as efficent as they could be.

Small comment on the crack from a french welding engineer : it's not thermal fatigue, it's stress induced corrosion. It's a much more complicated topic ! But as someone that worked on the repairs, I can say that it's well under control, and just the fact that it was detected before being critical, it shows that the safety procedures are working

Small correction: 0:43 The fallout spread on easterly winds, not westerly. The wind's name is where it came from, not where it's going.

The reason why nuclear power has such a reputation in Germany is mainly due to several nuclear waste leakages and the costs associated with it. There were 2 final nuclear repositories located here, both deep underground, both leaked after a few decades. The risk that nuclear waste goes into the ground water is still there. They are still trying to dig out the nuclear waste 20 years later, adding to the costs. These 2 disasters made nuclear energy one of the most expensive type of power in hindsight and the danger resulting from it is still not gone. This raises the question, what should happen with the waste? If the nuclear waste can't be secured for 30 years, what should happen with it in 100k years? And how much should that cost?

Actually, even after Cernobyl and Fukushima I don’t worry so much about meltdowns (though they are bad enough and I’m not even talking about Sellafield and the likes), but about nuclear waste. Decades of nuclear energy generation and still there no way to get rid of that stuff. It’s like flying and hoping someone will invent the landing strip anytime soon.

The worst part here is that Three Mile could hardly even be considered a disaster. A disaster in PR maybe, but nowhere near a nuclear disaster, yet had such a massive impact nonetheless.

Closing down working plants that are not in immediate danger or in need of a service while at the same time approving open-pit coal mines to increase "energy independency," now that's progress right there.

France is like that one team member that does 70% of the presentation and Germany is the person who says "mhm I'll get around to it" and never does.

2:10 "very real" well you should put thing in perspective. The mortality rate for nuclear power is a few deaths per trillion kwh. The mortality rate of coal power is 10 000 to 170 000 deaths per trillion kwh. And coal power plants actually releases more radioactive emissions than nuclear power plants.

One of the things you missed, and I hope you cover in your next video, is that SMRs aren't just easily replaced because they're small, they're easily replaced because they are designed to be built and assembled in a factory, instead of being assembled in-situ.

Yeah, I notice how 'cheap' wind and solar is - especially when they are not producing any output, which is more often that people think, and 100 % backup of renewables is required mainly these days by CCGT gas turbines - which are the only things fast enough to keep up with the roller coaster unreliable output of renewables, and keep the lights on.

I personally believe in Thoriumreactors, it is a concept that the UK already practiced with and the Netherlands is going to build a couple reactors that use this.