Summary
A new Innofact poll shows 55% of Germans support returning to nuclear power, a divisive issue influencing coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and SPD.
While 36% oppose the shift, support is strongest among men and in southern and eastern Germany.
About 22% favor restarting recently closed reactors; 32% support building new ones.
Despite nuclear support, 57% still back investment in renewables. The CDU/CSU is exploring feasibility, but the SPD and Greens remain firmly against reversing the nuclear phase-out, citing stability and past policy shifts.
Except baseload doesn’t really exist anymore in a power grid with lots of renewables. Those renewables already produce 100% of what is required at times and those times will become more common, and small gaps can be bridged with batteries etc. The real gap with renewables is going to be those times when there is no sun and wind for days, which apparently happens only a few times a year for a week or so at a time. And building a bunch of hugely expensive power plants and then have them sit idle for 95% of the time isn’t a good plan.