Germans are sceptical especially because they view themselves as a nation of thinkers and scientists. They (rightfully) pride themselves on having developed the

Germans are sceptical especially because they view themselves as a nation of thinkers and scientists. They (rightfully) pride themselves on having developed the state of renewables not just for themselves but for everybody - wind, and especially solar. It's just a pity they lost the lead and trashed their solar industry (in my opionion, because of neoliberal ideology they failed to implement protectionist policies and stopped supporting the domestic industry too suddenly). Germany didn't decide to replace nuclear with fossil. As a fairly wealthy nation, they decided to replace nuclear with renewables and accepting higher energy prices and the need to use less energy. Because they decided the price (it is not a risk, but a certain price) of having nuclear waste is too high. When discussing the nuclear vs renewable vs fossil triangle, we tend to forget that there is a fourth screw to adjust: demand for energy.