'We'll Need Conventional Power Plants until 2050'

Stephan Kohler, the head of the German Energy Agency, says the country must act smarter and more realistically in its transition to renewable energy. The "feel-good" subsidies for locally produced wind and solar power have had unintended consequences, he says, and the environmental movement is often part of the problem.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Kohler, according to the government's plans, the last German nuclear power plant will go offline in 2022. What will the domestic power supply look like at that point?

ANZEIGE
Kohler: It will be interesting. It's easy to shut down a nuclear power plant, but that doesn't mean you have something to replace it with. We know today, for example, that we don't have enough reliable power plant capacity in southern Germany to be able to offset the loss of nuclear energy.

See full Interview: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-energy-expert-argues-against-subsidies-for-solar-power-a-866996.html