End Of An Era: Germany Pulls The Plug On Last Few Nuclear Plants To 'Make Country Safer'

Germany, over the weekend, shut down its last three remaining nuclear power plants in line with its pre-determined shift towards sustainable energy sources.

What Happened: The RWE energy firm, in a statement on Saturday shortly after midnight, confirmed that Europe's biggest economy disconnected its last three reactors from the electricity grid.

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"The end of an era: After 35 years, the Emsland power plant has been disconnected from the grid. It was RWE's last operational nuclear unit. This also marks the end of power generation from nuclear energy in Germany after about 60 years," it said. 

Since 2002, Germany has been mulling moving away from nuclear power, but after Japan's Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, the phase-out was hastened by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"The risks of nuclear power are ultimately uncontrollable; that's why the nuclear phase-out makes our country safer, and avoids more nuclear waste," Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke had said earlier at the end of March.

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The closure of Emsland, Neckarwestheim II, and Isar II received a mixed response from Germans. While it was celebrated by anti-nuclear activists who had gathered outside the three power plants and at demonstrations held in Berlin and Munich, the plant personnel conducted more somber ceremonies to acknowledge the event.

Why It Matters: Germany's move to discontinue the use of nuclear power plants has been met with skepticism on both domestic and international levels, and there were many unsuccessful eleventh-hour appeals to suspend the decision.

Last year, when energy prices increased after Vladimir Putin limited gas supplies to Europe, the Olaf Scholz-led government became hesitant about closing the nuclear power plants by Dec. 31. Later, the chancellor allowed a one-time deadline extension but insisted that the final shutdown would occur on April 15.

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