Germany will have just three nuclear power plants operating in 2022: Emsland (1406MW PWR) in Lower Saxony; Isar 2 (1485MW PWR) in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 (1400MW PWR) in Baden-Württemberg.

The share of renewables in the power mix declined from 48% in 2020 to less than 43% in 2021, with 23% of wind, 9% of solar and 11% of biomass, hydropower and other renewables.

CO2 emissions from power generation thus rose by 13% in 2021, though remaining within the path of the Climate Protection Act.

The volume for solar capacity will be raised by 4,100 MW to around 6,050 MW in 2022 and the volume for onshore wind will be raised by 2,100 MW to around 5,000 MW.

The Bundesnetzagentur on Nov. 16 suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator while the company transferred assets to the German subsidiary to take over the application.

The 1284 MWe Gundremmingen B boiling water reactor (BWR) in southern Germany was disconnected from the grid on 31 December 2017 after 33 years of operation. Decommissioning of the unit began the following year. Gundremmingen C - a 1288 MWe BWR - is scheduled to shut down at the end of this year.

Germany will also support the extension of carbon trading to providers of heating and transport, and the introduction of a CO2 border adjustment mechanism at the EU level.

RWE aims at tripling its offshore wind capacity by 2030 from 2.4 GW to 8 GW and expanding its onshore wind and solar capacity from 7 GW to 20 GW.

Russia has repeatedly said that the early launch of Nord Stream 2 would help ease the current high gas prices in Europe, which have soared in recent weeks on intensifying concerns over winter gas supply amid lower-than-expected Russian deliveries.

Germany is increasing the carbon emissions of its energy system by stepping out of nuclear power. And this at a time when the decarbonisation of the electricity industry is the main strategy for effectively achieving an energy system with net-zero emissions.