Bad Idea #13 "The Energiewende" with Noah Rettberg

🔍 Episode Summary:

Energiewende — is Germany a shining example of how to lead the global energy transition, or a cautionary tale of how not to do it?

In this unnerving episode, Mark Lynas is joined by German energy analyst and activist Noah Jakob Rettberg for a deep dive into one of Europe’s most consequential policy blunders: Germany’s nuclear shutdown.

Noah explains how the Energiewende — once celebrated as a green transition — has resulted in skyrocketing electricity prices, energy insecurity, and creeping deindustrialization. He reveals how anti-nuclear ideology within Germany’s Green Party has led to the dismantling of 12.5 GW of clean energy capacity, just when Europe needs it most.

They explore whether Germany’s nuclear plants can be restarted, what it would take politically, and why this is not just a fight about energy — but about the very future of liberal democracy in Europe.

🧠 Topics Discussed:

🇩🇪 The political origins of Germany’s Energiewende and anti-nuclear ideology

💶 The economic fallout: high prices, lost industry, and rising emissions

💡 Why Germany’s electricity consumption is falling — and why that’s not a good sign

🔋 Battery storage, hydrogen myths, and the brutal math of a “Dunkelflaute”

🪓 How decommissioning is erasing 12.5 GW of clean energy — and fast

🔧 The Radiant Energy restart plan: 9 reactors, €15B, 8 years

🧱 What it would take to reverse course legally and politically

🌍 Why this is Europe’s problem, not just Germany’s

🚨 How energy policy could undermine NATO, rearmament, and European stability

🧑‍🔬 Guest Bio:

Noah Jakob Rettberg is a leading figure in Germany’s pro-nuclear movement and an advisor to Nuklearia. He is a contributor to the Radiant Energy Group’s report on restarting Germany’s nuclear fleet and a frequent commentator on European energy policy.

📚 Recommended Reading & Listening:

• Radiant Energy Group – Report on Nuclear Restarts in Germany

• Tacheles für die Zukunft – Florian Blümm (DE)

• The Grim Fairy Tale of German Electricity (one of our DECOUPLE podcast favorites)

• Nuklearia

• The Restart German Nuclear Conference

• Noah Rettberg Speech at the Conference

📝 Quote Highlights:

“Every day that passes is vandalism of clean energy infrastructure.” — Mark Lynas

“We don’t even have a tenth of a thousandth of the battery storage needed. And yet they believe we’ll run the grid this way.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg

“Europe needs Germany. And a strong Germany needs power. This is a battle for liberal democracy.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg

“You could restart nine reactors for less than what they’re spending on hydrogen-ready gas plants.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg

🌐 About WePlanet:

WePlanet is a citizen and science movement that challenges conventional thinking to defend evidence-based solutions to environmental challenges. Learn more at weplanet.org.

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