Radiant Energy Group's Response to Federal Government Statement on Reactor Restarts

Berlin / Chicago — August 11, 2026

On July 29, the German Federal Government replied to Radiant Energy Group’s report on restarting Germany's shuttered nuclear reactors, accompanied by an open letter supporting its contents signed by current and former leaders in the nuclear industry. While we are grateful that the German government took the time to respond to our findings, it is important to look at what they addressed, and what they omitted. 

Their response did not address whether the reactors can be restarted, the cost of such a program, nor whether Germany, where energy-intensive industrial production is down more than 15% since early 2022, needs the added electricity. The response rests on a single observation: the German parliament voted in 2011 to enact an "orderly conclusion" of nuclear power's role in the German energy mix, and nobody has voted to change that law since.

This is undeniably true. It also does not attempt to confront the core issues at hand, and what our report raises: practical feasibility, cost, and energy security.

The 2011 vote to outlaw nuclear energy came in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident from a Bundestag elected in 2009. It was backed by the SPD and the Greens, and passed by a coalition of CDU/CSU and FDP. This coalition does not reflect today’s political reality. The FDP holds zero seats in today's Bundestag. If they did, they would likely no longer pass such a law, having changed their position on nuclear in 2022. Furthermore, the current Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who is leader of the other half of the coalition that tabled and passed the original law, has gone on record to state that shuttering the plants was a mistake. 

Public opinion, naturally, hasn't held still either. Our own 2025 polling, aligning with the research of others, puts support among Germans for keeping nuclear power at 61%. Support for phasing it out completely: 22%. At almost 3:1, current opinion runs opposite to the policy the 2011 law maintains.

Whatever Germany ultimately decides about nuclear power, an independent technical audit of the work required to rebuild and restart the existing German fleet would establish the cost and feasibility of such a program. Halting decommissioning efforts and conducting such an assessment would allow the continuation to be decided on current evidence and circumstances rather than proceeding by default based on a 15-year-old policy.

"The 2011 world is long gone," said Madison Hilly, the Managing Director of Radiant Energy Group. "Electricity in Germany costs more than it does almost anywhere else in Europe, and remains among the most carbon-intensive in Europe. Our report highlights that getting their existing plants back online would be cost-competitive and cheaper than starting from scratch."

About Radiant Energy Group: Radiant Energy Group is an energy consultancy producing original research and evidence-based insights to inform decisions and strengthen understanding of nuclear energy.

Media contact: media@radiantenergygroup.com