BERLIN, (Reuters) – Germany is moving towards a complete withdrawal from nuclear energy and has shut down three of the six remaining nuclear power stations.

After the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, when a tsunami and an earthquake destroyed Fukushima’s coastal plant, the Japanese government decided that it would accelerate its transition to nuclear power. This was the most severe nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl’s 1986 meltdown.

After three decades of operation, the reactors at Brokdorf and Grohnde were shut down by utilities E.ON, RWE late Friday.

End of 2022 will see the final three nuclear power plant – Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim II — shut off.

Preussen Elektra is the company that runs the Brokdorf, Grohnde and Grohnde factories. It released a statement Saturday saying the plants were shut down just before midnight on Friday. RWE also stated the Gundremmingen C facility had stopped production on Friday evening.

Guido Knott, PreussenElektra’s CEO, thanked his staff for their safety commitment: “We have made an important contribution to the reliable and secure supply of electricity to Germany over decades,” he said.

Even though Europe is facing ambitious climate goals and increasing power prices, the phase-out of energy that has been deemed cheap and clean by some is an unavoidable step.

According to preliminary data, the six nuclear power plants accounted for around 12% of Germany’s electricity generation in 2021. Renewable energy accounted for almost 41% of the total, while coal generated just 28%, and gas generated 15%.

Germany’s goal is to have renewable energy meet at least 80% of its power needs by 2030, by increasing wind and solar power infrastructure.

Japan’s government laid out Tuesday a plan to release contaminated water from its Fukushima nuclear reactor into the ocean. This angered South Korea and China.

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