Nuclear Winter: European Giants Experiencing Energy Difficulties in Cold Snap

A winter-related hiccup has arisen in Germany regarding its plan to phase out nuclear power by 2022. Just one year after the country decided to abandon nuclear power, a cold related surge in electricity demand has prompted German officials to call upon the reinstatement of five of the eight nuclear power plants that were recently taken off line.

Now, this isn’t a sign that Germany is back on line for good, but it does speak to the need for power that nuclear energy can provide for. Of Germany’s 17 reactors, eight were shut down in 2011, while the remaining 9 are scheduled to be turned off between 2015 and 2022.

The knee jerk reaction by Germany last year was questionable in its practicality, and rife with political populism. It didn’t take long for Germany to have to begin importing power from Austria to stabilize its network, tapping into the Austrian supply in December.

And while Germany is urgently solving its energy dilemma, France is reporting outages at state-run utility EDF’s nuclear reactors which according to Reuters’ estimate accounts for 2,700 MW or 4.3 percent of France’s nuclear production capacity. This has left the country’s online availability at 60,560 MW or 95.7 percent.

While not a dire situation for France, the fact is that France has had to surpass Germany recently by importing more electricity from Britain for the first time ever, as Germans are being forced to retain spare generation during the icy weather. Since Germany shut down its 8 oldest reactors, it has ceased to be the main country providing electricity imports to France. Since last year, French power imports from Germany nearly halved, while those from the UK increased 90 percent.

This has resulted in French baseload power prices surging to a high of 155 euros per megawatt-hour, with peakload prices trading as high as 200 euros. From within, two thirds of France’s power production is coming nuclear power plants, 14 percent from hydro, and coal and gas plants each providing 5 percent.

Whether or not the French or the Germans can continue on without nuclear power at the centre of their country’s power production is left to be seen. What is obvious at this stage is that while plants can be decommissioned, they shouldn’t be dismantled until replacement power sources are established, as shocks to the grid such as the European winter.

It doesn’t help when politicians jump to conclusions and put their populace’s power supplies in jeopardy. Germany did so when it pulled the plug too fast on its nuclear plants. France has also snubbed energy for eco reasons, by pulling the plug on the controversial process of fracking for its natural gas shortly after the rollout of the documentary Gasland hit French theatres and appropriately dubbed.

While these two European giants are criticizing their neighbours to the South for improper actions when it comes to fiscal deficits, they themselves are putting undue stress on the power supplies of their neighbours for running energy deficits of their own. Both deficits hold dire consequences should a shock arise, and as this particularly harsh winter rumbles on, the proof in the mishandling of France and Germany’s energy supplies is more than apparent at this time. Better forward thinking needs to be established, and hopefully before next winter.

G. Joel Chury
Editor in Chief
VantageWire