Impact of Reactor Shutdown: Germany Importing Nuclear Power to Meet Energy Needs

[LAGC]

I apologize for the biased source of my other post on this topic. Maybe we can argue substance now, instead of attack the messenger?

Germany has been importing nuclear power from France and the Czech Republic since it switched off its seven oldest nuclear power stations last month in the wake of the Fukushima accident, power company RWE said on Monday.

A spokesman for RWE confirmed a report in Bild newspaper that Germany had become a net importer of power since March 16. Previously, Germany had been a net electricity exporter because of its rising output of power from renewable energy sources.

RWE said the country's power imports from France and Czech have been amounting up to 3,000 megawatts and up to 2,000 megawatts respectively. Three quarters of France's power supply comes from nuclear energy while the Czech Republic relies on reactors for 34 percent of its energy needs.

Hildegard Müller, head of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries also said on Monday that power imports were up. "Since March 17, there has been an increase in imports. Flows from France and the Czech Republic have doubled," she said.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,754957,00.html

It's great that Germany wants to focus its efforts on renewables, but ironic that it will still be relying on its detested nuclear power sources in the meantime. Does it really make that much of a difference if the nuclear plants providing Germany power are located in Germany or France?

Sounds more like a N.I.M.B.Y. situation due to all the noisy anti-nuclear activists than any real practical game-changer.

[Kolesar]

1. The farther one is from a meltdown, the better

Despite the defensive wailing, this subject *was* actually addressed properly in the other thread.
So poop on your "hate the German greenies" thread.

[LAGC]

3. Believe it or not, I don't "hate the Greenies."

I think Green Party members have a lot of very good and noble ideas they can bring to the table, its just that they aren't very practical about how they go about trying to bring their hoped for changes about.

Just like Ralph Nader. Very decent consumer rights advocate who has done a lot of good, but his all-or-nothing approach ends up moving us in the wrong direction.

I mean, is it worth it abandoning domestic nuclear power production if it just means building more coal/natural-gas plants and importing more energy from nuclear/coal neighboring countries?

[Kolesar]

4. "is it worth it abandoning domestic nuclear power production?"

At the rate at which they units have been failing--Yes

[bananas]

2. You're still using conservative anti-science anti-environmentalist hate speech

when you say things like "all the noisy anti-nuclear activists".
One of the ways of effecting change is to "think globally, act locally" or "be the change you want to see".
So when activists are taking a principled stand and making changes where they live, you shouldn't just explain it away as "nimbyism".

Environmentalists in Germany and France and the world over are trying to reduce fossil and fission energy.
And a lot of that is by acting locally, at the city, county, and state levels.

[LAGC]

5. Why do you assume that being pro-nuclear is a conservative position?

France is one of the most liberal countries in the world, and they have embraced it.

The fact that they now get over 70% of their electricity from nuclear sources means that they have done more to fight climate change than any other industrialized country, and are now in the enviable position of not having to build any more coal/nuclear power plants for quite some time, and can instead focus all their efforts on gradual renewables deployment for the foreseeable future.

If only America had been so wise...

[kristopher]

6. Only 12% of the French believe in nuclear power as a way to meet their energy needs.

[LAGC]

7. Yet, I bet if you asked those other 88%

If they like having their houses heated, being able to take hot showers, and having their lights coming on when they flick a switch, they wouldn't have it any other way.

Do you really think that most French would prefer burning a bunch of fossil fuels instead?

Like I said before, France is in the enviable position of actually being able to practicably start embracing renewables since it has all that excess capacity from nuclear power generation to rely on while making the switch.

[kristopher]

13. PreFukushima only 36% of French thought the benefits of fission were worth the risks

PreFukushima 58% of them thought nuclear fission's risks are underestimated.
In Germany it was only 53%.

PreFukushima 53% of French thought the risks of fission outweigh the benefits.
In Germany it was 52%.

PreFukushima only 36% of French thought the benefits of fission were worth the risks.
In Germany that number was also 36%.

[LAGC]

14. That sounds like quite a mood swing.

Too bad so many people are using one freak accident to condemn the entire concept.

I imagine there was a similar reaction when Chernobyl blew up, but after the situation was brought under control and time passed, I imagine support went back up.

You make a good point, kristopher. Maybe we shouldn't be minding the polls too much right now considering Fukushima is still an item, and should wait until the dust settles then see where people stand after they've had a chance to rationally examine the issue?

[FBaggins]

8. You really can't make an honest argument there, can you?

Think anyone wonders why?

[SpoonFed]

10. Pot/kettle rofl n/ t

[FBaggins]

11. Any point in challenging you to back that up?

In the past you've just faded away.

Now that I think of it... That's win-win isn't it? :rofl:

[flamingdem]

15. I am appaulled by the sneering tone towards anti-nuclear sentiments in this forum

DU is a democratic forum and 75% of Dems want to get rid of nuclear plants.

[LAGC]

18. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the anti-nuclear crowd doesn't have any practical...

...solutions that are economically viable right now?

Just a hunch.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. What happens when that power is not available during high demand due to needs in the source nation

If Germany goes nuke free, their fraction of domestically produced power would be a record low for a European country.

[jpak]

12. Temporary effects that will be rapidly overcome

yup

[flamingdem]

16. Education is key

Let's get the kiddies off the video games for an hour per night! That will help the US economy long run as well..

[FBaggins]

17. How rapidly?

Just wondering.