Germany pulls plug on last of nuclear plants

BERLIN — Germany began winding down its three remaining nuclear power plants Saturday as part of a long-planned transition toward renewable energy, drawing cheers from environmentalists who campaigned for the move.

The shutdown of the reactors Emsland, Neckarwestheim II and Isar II, agreed to more than a decade ago, was being closely watched abroad.

Other industrialized countries, such as the United States, Japan, China, France and Britain, are counting on nuclear energy to replace planet-warming fossil fuels. Germany’s decision to stop using both has met some skepticism, as well as unsuccessful last-minute calls to halt the shutdown.

Decades of anti-nuclear protests in Germany, stoked by disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, put pressure on successive governments to end the use of a technology that critics argue is unsafe and unsustainable.

Environmental groups planned to mark the day with celebrations outside the three reactors and rallies in major cities, including Berlin.

Defenders of atomic energy say fossil fuels should be phased out first as part of global efforts to curb climate change, arguing that nuclear power produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and is safe, if properly managed.

As energy prices spiked last year due to the war in Ukraine, some members of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government got cold feet about closing nuclear plants as planned on Dec. 31, 2022. In a compromise, Scholz agreed to a one-time extension, but insisted on April 15.

Still, Bavaria’s conservative governor, Markus Soeder, who backed the original deadline set in 2011 when Chancellor Angela Merkel was Germany’s leader, this week called the shutdown “an absolute mistaken decision.”