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Deutschlands Stromversorgung steht an einem Wendepunkt. Kohle ist wie die Kernkraft keine Zukunftstechnologie. Auf den Zubau von Kohlekraftwerken kann verzichtet werden, wenn rasch in den Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien investiert wird. Ein Weg in eine sichere und saubere Energieversorgung ist die Nutzung existierender Kraftwerke als Brücke bis durch Speichertechnologien und Netzausbau eine Integration der erneuerbaren Energien gesichert wird.

The upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris will once again highlight the need for action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change. The relevant global energy scenarios are often still based on the assumption that the expansion of nuclear power can contribute to climate protection. The increasing investment and operating costs of nuclear plants, the unresolved issues concerning the dismantling of plants and permanent storage of nuclear waste, and the continuing lack of insurability against nuclear accidents make nuclear power extremely unattractive from an economic perspective. As a result, many nuclear power companies are facing financial difficulties. The nuclear renaissance is a myth: the majority of the around 400 nuclear power stations currently in operation around the world are outdated and will still need to be dismantled after they have been decommissioned. The construction of new nuclear power plants is restricted to a small number of countries, predominantly China. DIW Berlin has modeled a number of scenarios to forecast European power supply up to 2050 and they show that, with a marked expansion of renewable energy sources, Europe can meet its climate targets without nuclear power. The proliferation of more cost-effective renewable energy technologies, particularly wind and solar power, can compensate for the anticipated decline in nuclear power. In a scenario that includes no new nuclear power plant construction at all, renewables account for 88 percent of powergeneration capacity. Nuclear power was, is, and will never be a sustainable energy source and is, therefore, unsuitable for an efficient climate policy. A transition to greater use of renewables is the more cost-effective option overall. Die kommende Klimakonferenz in Paris wird einmal mehr den Handlungsbedarf zur globalen Minderung von Treibhausgasemissionen verdeutlichen, um die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels einzudämmen. Relevante globale Energieszenarien gehen oftmals noch davon aus, dass der Ausbau der Atomkraft einen Beitrag zum Klimaschutz leisten wird. Die deutlich gestiegenen Investitionskosten für neue Atomkraftwerke, zunehmende Betriebskosten, ungelöste Fragen des Rückbaus und der Endlagerung und die nach wie vor fehlende Versicherbarkeit von Atomunfällen machen die Atomenergie wirtschaftlich jedoch äußerst unattraktiv. Dementsprechend befinden sich viele Atomkonzerne in finanziellen Schwierigkeiten. Eine angebliche Renaissance der Atomenergie gibt es nicht: Die meisten der weltweit rund 400 Atomkraftwerke, die derzeit betrieben werden, sind alt und müssen nach ihrer Stilllegung zurückgebaut werden. Der Kraftwerksneubau beschränkt sich auf wenige Länder, vor allem China. Szenarioanalysen des DIW Berlin für die europäische Stromversorgung bis 2050 zeigen, dass Europa seine Klimaschutzziele bei einem deutlichen Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien auch ohne Atomkraft erreichen kann. Dank zunehmend kostengünstiger Technologien, insbesondere Windkraft und Photovoltaik, kann der zu erwartende Rückgang der Atomkraft kompensiert werden. In einem Szenario gänzlich ohne Neubauten von Atomkraftwerken stellen die erneuerbaren Energien im Jahr 2050 88 Prozent der Stromerzeugungskapazitäten dar. Atomkraft war, ist und wird keine nachhaltige Energiequelle und ist daher für eine effiziente Klimapolitik ungeeignet. Der Umbau hin zu einem verstärkten Einsatz erneuerbarer Energien ist gesamtwirtschaftlich die kostengünstigere Variante.

The upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris will once again highlight the need for action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change. The relevant global energy scenarios are often still based on the assumption that the expansion of nuclear power can contribute to climate change mitigation. The spiraling investment and operating costs of nuclear plants, the unresolved issues concerning the dismantling of these plants and permanent storage of nuclear waste, and the continuing lack of insurability against nuclear accidents make nuclear power extremely unattractive from an economic perspective. As a result, many nuclear power companies are facing financial difficulties. The nuclear renaissance was simply a fairy tale: the majority of the around 400 nuclear power stations currently in operation around the world are outdated and will still need to be dismantled after they have been decommissioned. The construction of new nuclear power plants is restricted to a small number of countries, predominantly China. DIW Berlin has modeled a number of scenarios to forecast European power supply up to 2050 and these show that, with a marked expansion of renewable energy sources, Europe can meet its climate targets without nuclear power. The proliferation of more cost-effective renewable energy technologies, particularly wind and solar power, can compensate for the anticipated decline in nuclear power. In a scenario that includes no new nuclear power plant construction at all, renewables account for 88 percent of powergeneration capacity. Nuclear power was not, is not, and never will be a sustainable energy source and is, therefore, unsuitable for an efficient climate policy. A transition to greater use of renewables is the more cost-effective option overall.

Fragen der Finanzierung des Rückbaus von Atomkraftwerken und der Entsorgung radioaktiver Abfälle stehen im Mittelpunkt der gegenwärtigen Diskussion um die weitere Ausgestaltung des Atomausstiegs. Es besteht die Gefahr, dass sich die Atomkraftwerksbetreiber ihrer finanziellen Verantwortung langfristig zumindest teilweise entziehen. Die bisherigen Erfahrungen zeigen, dass es beim Rückbau von Atomkraftwerken und bei der Entsorgung radioaktiver Abfälle oft zu erheblichen Verzögerungen sowie Kostensteigerungen kommt. Bisher fehlt nach wie vor ein Endlager für hochradioaktive Abfälle, während beim derzeit im Bau befindlichen Endlager Konrad für schwach- bis mittelradioaktive Abfälle die genehmigten Kapazitäten absehbar zu knapp bemessen sind. Zur langfristigen Sicherung der Finanzierung des Kraftwerksrückbaus und der Entsorgung radioaktiver Abfälle werden derzeit die Bildung von unternehmensinternen Fonds, die Schaffung eines öffentlich-rechtlichen Fonds sowie Mischformen dieser Konzepte diskutiert. Aufgrund der Interdependenzen zwischen Rückbau und Entsorgung sowie des langen abzudeckenden Zeitraums erscheint die Einrichtung eines öffentlich-rechtlichen Fonds am besten geeignet, um die Finanzierung dauerhaft zu sichern, das Verursacherprinzip zu wahren und die finanziellen Risiken für die Gesellschaft zu mindern. Die Bundesregierung sollte deshalb einen öffentlich-rechtlichen Fonds einrichten, der sowohl der Finanzierung des Rückbaus der Atomkraftwerke als auch der Entsorgung radioaktiver Abfälle dient. Die Zuführung der notwendigen Mittel zum Fonds sollte zeitlich gestreckt werden, um den Unternehmen die Anpassung zu erleichtern. At present, the question how to finance the decommissioning of nuclear plants and the management of radioactive waste, and how to structure the next steps of the German nuclear phase-out is in the center of the current debate. There is a threat that nuclear power plant operators could partially abdicate their financial responsibility in the long term. Previous experiences have shown that decommissioning nuclear plants and managing radioactive waste often involves substantial delays and cost increases. So far, a permanent repository for highly radioactive waste is still missing. At the same time, the capacity of the repository Konrad for low and medium level radioactive waste, which is currently being built, is too low for all the waste expected. In order to secure the financing of plant decommissioning and radioactive waste management in the long term, several concepts are being discussed, among them intra-corporate funds, a public fund, as well as hybrid solutions of these approaches.Because of the existing interdependencies between plant decommissioning and waste management and a very long time horizon, the establishment of a public fund appears to be most suitable in order to secure long-term financing, to adhere to the "polluter-pays principle", and to mitigate the financial risks of the society. The German government should thus establish a single public fund which secures the financing of both plant decommissioning and radioactive waste management. The payments to the fund should be spread over time in order to help the companies to adapt.

Abstract Energy supply and use play vital roles in transition towards a sustainable society. Nuclear energy is used or planned to be used in 40 countries globally, yet the contribution of nuclear energy to sustainable development remains an area of contention. The purpose of this exploratory study is to understand the framing of sustainability within national energy strategies of countries pursuing or planning to start nuclear energy production. The strategies were analyzed by assessing the occurrence of 56 facets of sustainability grouped into 7 dimensions. In addition, the definitions of sustainability used in the strategies and the information on consultation and public participation in their preparation was reviewed. Most strategies mentioned sustainability but did not provide its explicit definition. Risk, waste management and social aspects of sustainability were mentioned relatively less frequently than to environmental, governance and economic aspects of sustainability. The information on consultation and public participation portrayed a limited extent of such processes.

This article positions collective renewable energy prosumerism as a social movement that engages in energy system transformation. Collective renewable energy prosumer initiatives engage in ‘prefigurative’ work through their discursive framings (ways of thinking), their activities (ways of doing) and their understanding and enactment of social relations (ways of organising). The core of this article is a comparative analysis of the prefigurative work of 13 collective prosumers from 7 European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom). The article discusses their contributions to energy system transformation, including renewable energy production, different mechanisms for involving citizens, local value creation, and the degree of desired and actual collaboration and networking within broader prosumer ecosystems. We then discuss these contributions against societal discourses and expectations towards prosumerism, such as energy democracy, energy justice, and environmental sustainability and decarbonisation. This reveals three tensions: 1) a focus on decarbonisation but not on broader environmental problems, 2) the involvement of certain people and not of others, and 3) the building of prosumer eco-systems while ignoring incumbency. Future research avenues are formulated to conclude the article.

Abstract Scholars looking at policy mixes for the energy transition and seeking to facilitate a move away from fossil-based structures are increasingly addressing the opposite side of innovation. To describe this, the article introduces the concept of exnovation, referring to attempts to end fossil-based technological trajectories in a deliberate fashion. It applies a framework that encompasses innovation and exnovation alike in order to investigate the policy mix of the German energy transition. Beside finding that energy transition policy mixes need to emphasize regulatory instruments more in order to bring about decarbonization, the article also describes some general aspects of the policy mix design required to govern the innovation-exnovation nexus.

Abstract In this paper, we focus on and compare policies for phasing-out coal and lignite energy production and light bulbs as part of regime-level climate change mitigation measures. Our approach broadens the transition focus on discontinuation policies by adding a relational STS perspective. Our goal is to understand how the relationships that constitute sociotechnical regimes are deliberately brought to an end. In order to understand this “dissociation”, we explore how policymakers instigate phase-out by engaging technology users and producers to loosen their entanglements in existing socio-material networks and eventually end their established sociotechnical relations. In two case studies we show how dissociation was achieved through 1) translating the German coal and lignite phase-out into a regional development challenge and 2) translating a well-established business with highly standardised and cosy incandescent lighting into a fast-changing lead market for energy-efficient LED technology.