{"id":19622,"date":"2012-06-11T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=19622"},"modified":"2012-06-09T15:28:18","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T14:28:18","slug":"germany-swaps-nuclear-for-solar-and-wind-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2012\/06\/germany-swaps-nuclear-for-solar-and-wind-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany Swaps Nuclear for Solar and Wind Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to the Fukushima meltdown\u2014which did $50 billion in damage to Japan\u2019s economy\u2014Germany aims to close all its reactors by 2022. <\/em><\/p>\n

Germany, the world\u2019s most aggressive adopter of renewable energy, is taking a bold leap toward a future free from nuclear energy. In March [2012], the German government announced a program to invest 200 billion euros, or approximately $270 billion, in renewables. That\u2019s 8 percent of the country\u2019s GDP, according to the DIW Economic Institute in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Last year, in response to the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a plan to close down all 17 of Germany\u2019s nuclear reactors and replace them with renewable energy, mostly solar and wind power.<\/p>\n

Germany has already closed eight nuclear reactors, and the rest will be shut down by 2022. For now, natural gas is filling the void left by nuclear power, which formerly produced 20 percent of the country\u2019s electricity. Under Merkel\u2019s plan, 80 percent of Germany\u2019s energy will come from renewables by 2050, according to the German Advisory Council on the Environment. Studies by the council show that 100 percent renewable power is a realistic goal for Germany.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the United States has been much less ambitious. The president\u2019s \u201cNew Energy for America\u201d plan aims to supply the country with 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.<\/p>\n

Eighty percent of German residents want to see their country abandon nuclear power, but some Germans have also opposed new energy projects in their backyards. The website for \u201cWind Power Opponents,\u201d Windkraftgegner.de, lists more than 70 protest campaigns, most of which are regional, grassroots groups organized to stop specific projects.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s renewables plan will be expensive, but so was the Fukushima meltdown\u2014it did $50 billion in damage to Japan\u2019s economy by some estimates. Dealing with the effects of climate change won\u2019t be cheap either. Even German nuclear power companies are investing in the plan. Not only will it make Germany\u2019s energy infrastructure among the safest in the world, it should provide many chances for economic growth, according to press statements by Philipp R\u00f6sler, Germany\u2019s economics minister.<\/p>\n

_________________________<\/p>\n

Oliver Lazenby wrote this article for\u00a0Making it Home<\/a><\/strong>, the Summer 2012 issue of YES! Magazine. Oliver is a freelance writer, former YES! intern, and farm laborer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 yesmagazine.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Germany, the world\u2019s most aggressive adopter of renewable energy, is taking a bold leap toward a future free from nuclear energy. In March [2012], the German government announced a program to invest 200 billion euros, or approximately $270 billion, in renewables. That\u2019s 8 percent of the country\u2019s GDP, according to the DIW Economic Institute in Berlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}