How great is the economic damage caused by the nuclear power plant closure decided by the traffic light remit really? With billions of taxpayers’ money, the subsidized industrial electricity price for the chemical, automotive and steel industries is now supposed to fix it so that our economy does not collapse.

From Blackout News

With billions from the tax pot, Economics Minister Habeck wants to stabilize the supported electricity price for the chemical, automotive and steel industries in order to support our economy. At the presentation of his industrial strategy, he warned of “critically high energy prices” and declining prosperity in Germany (Bild:27.10.23). How bad is the economic impact of the traffic light coalition’s nuclear power plant stop really?

Economics Minister Habeck warns: Industrial loss threatens prosperity – Secret e-mails reveal truth about nuclear power plants

“Industries are being lost, and that means not only the loss of employers and sectors, but also of an important part of our prosperity,” said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck at the presentation of his detailed “Industrial Strategy”. The official government document even speaks of “critically high energy costs”!

An internal email exchange from 2022 between the press departments of the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs is available to BILD. This shows that the Ministry of Economic Affairs recognized early on that nuclear power plants would provide cheaper electricity if they continued to operate.

In the e-mails, the opinion of the “technical level of the BMWK” on the advantages of the continued operation of the nuclear power plants is quoted. This is presumably about Department III Electricity, which was previously under the direction of former State Secretary Patrick Graichen. However, this information has not been disclosed to the public.

The e-mails contain the following statement: “In addition to the (small) gas savings, the continued operation of the nuclear power plants brings two other plus points: electricity prices fall and grid stability improves. Since Neckarwestheim and Isar2 are located in the south of Germany (and are constantly in operation), they significantly reduce grid bottlenecks.”

The fact that this information was never made public seems strange. It certainly wasn’t an oversight.

Top economist warns of energy crisis: Germany imports record quantities of nuclear power

The renowned economist Prof. Clemens Fuest, head of the Ifo Institute in Munich, does not believe that a special industrial electricity price can solve the energy problem. He sees Germany’s economic decline as sealed.

“It doesn’t make sense to reduce the supply of electricity and then use subsidies against it, if you look at the impact. This only harms us,” Fuest said in an interview. It is risky to lose industries and rely on alternative sources of value.

Instead of using our own nuclear power plants, we are buying more and more expensive nuclear power from abroad! In 2023, Germany will purchase more electricity from outside than ever before. Nuclear power is now actually the main source of our imported electricity! “Agora Energiewende” analysed imports and found that with 12.6 terawatt hours, the largest part of electricity was supplied to Germany from nuclear power. Nuclear energy accounts for more than 4 percent of Germany’s electricity consumption. This is more than before the shutdown of Germany’s nuclear power plants on April 15.

FDP alarmed: Nuclear power phase-out threatens to destroy Germany’s prosperity

The FDP is shocked and calls for a stop to the dismantling of nuclear power plants.

Michael Kruse, energy expert of the FDP, told BILD: “This destroys our prosperity. If we continue like this, we’ll soon be living in trees again.” He does not see any benefit for the environment in the nuclear phase-out, but only economic loss.

Despite the CO₂ cost of coal, imported electricity was the cheapest option. A representative of the Federal Network Agency explained: “This is the goal of the European single market: we do not always produce the electricity ourselves, but buy it where it is offered at the cheapest price. This saves German consumers money.”

Expensive electricity imports burden Germany: More than 5 billion euros spent, nuclear power overlooked as a cheaper alternative

However, we paid an average of 111 euros for each megawatt hour imported, while only 78 euros were collected for exported electricity. If Germany had more of its own cheap electricity, whether green or nuclear, imports would be lower. Electricity would become cheaper.

After three quarters, Germany has paid over five billion euros for imported electricity this year. This is more than two billion euros more than what was earned from electricity exports. Nuclear power would have been the more cost-effective choice. Imported electricity could only compete with coal-fired electricity in terms of price in summer. But now coal-fired power generation is also on the rise again!