upvote
I think this sells the German energy mix short - fossil fuel has been on a steady decline in the energy mix for about 2 decades now.

Comparing 2020[^2] to 2025[^1]:

- renewables (solar+wind) went from 181 TWh to 219 TWh

- fossil (coal+gas) stayed constant (177 TWh and 179 TWh)

So I'd say we switched from nuclear (60TWh in 2020) to renewables & imported nuclear - but the long-term trend is towards renewables.

[1]: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/... [2]: (pdf) https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/en/documents/N...

reply
I realize there is a lot of verbal gymnastics going on around this issue, and the word "renewables" is being used a lot, but my point still stands.

Another way to look at your numbers is that had the nuclear plants not been turned off, fossil (coal+gas) could have been reduced by 60TWh.

But they weren't reduced. They remained the same.

From the point of view of the fossil fuel industry: WIN!

reply
The fossil fuel lobby can only do so much. Solar has gotten so cheap it's taking over on its own. Companies are doing it for no reason other than the math makes sense. EV batteries are nearing that point too. You can only keep BYD out of the US for so long.
reply
The fossil fuel industry is fighting a rearguard action at this point.
reply
> Germany shifted from nuclear to coal and gas

Sure, but you're attributing this, deliberately or not, to the wrong cause. It wasn't that the fossil fuel industry somehow won - it was range of factors possibly including geopolitics, some existing plants aging, an emotional response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the Green lobby.

Basically, they voted to kill nuclear without a solid plan for an alternative, and coal/gas is the default option for filling the gaps left in the absence of timely and sufficiently rapid investment in other technologies.

reply
Hmm. After former chancellor (Schroeder) heavily pushed Russian gas pipelines (Nord Stream 1 and 2) and then swiftly moved to working for Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom, I have a different outlook on things.
reply
One can never discount lobbying and influence behind the scenes, but Schroeder finished being Chancellor in 2005, which was six years before the initial post-Fukushima vote in question, and even longer since various aspects of the plan continued to be supported by various politicians.

He'd be a spectacularly successful lobbyist if your suspicion is correct.

reply
I mean yeah, but $100 a barrel makes it difficult to argue.
reply