For 35 years, the Emsland nuclear power plant in northwestern Germany has provided electricity to millions of homes and a large number of high-paying jobs in the region.
It is now being shut down along with two other nuclear power plants. Fearing that neither fossil fuels nor nuclear power are sustainable sources of energy, Germany long ago opted to phase them out.
Anti-nuclear Germans breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the final countdown. The closure had been delayed for months because of concerns about energy shortages caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
While Germany is shutting down its nuclear plants, several European governments have announced plans to build new plants or reneged on previous pledges to shut down existing plants.
The mayor of Lingen, Dieter Krone, said the brief shutdown ceremony at the plant had created mixed feelings.
Lingen has been trying to attract public and commercial partners to invest in green fuels for the past 12 years.
The region already produces more renewable energy than it uses. In the future, Lingen hopes to establish itself as a hydrogen production center that uses renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to produce green hydrogen.
Lingen is scheduled to open one of the world’s largest clean-energy hydrogen production facilities this autumn, with some of the hydrogen being used to create “green steel” that is crucial to making Europe’s largest economy carbon-neutral by 2045.
Post time: Apr-18-2023