Complaint about a programme to HR

In the programme “Wirtschaft vor acht” broad­cast on 28 March 2025, an alleged “renais­sance of nuclear power” was presented as a key driver of the global increase in newly installed capa­city. However, a look at the facts provided by inter­na­tional energy agen­cies paints a completely different picture: Whilst solar energy is exper­i­en­cing an unpre­ced­ented boom, nuclear power is stag­nating world­wide. This portrayal is there­fore misleading and contra­venes the broadcaster’s remit. We have there­fore lodged a formal programme complaint with Hess­is­cher Rund­funk on 2 May 2025 and are demanding a correc­tion.

Complaint about a programme: the ‘Wirtschaft vor acht’ programme broad­cast on 28 March 25

Dear Mr Hager,

On 28 March 25, the programme ‘Wirtschaft vor acht’ discussed newly installed capa­city in the elec­tri­city sector in 2024, starting at around the 2:57 mark. Presenter Anja Kohl said:

“Because so much elec­tri­city is needed, more gener­ating capa­city has been installed world­wide. This repres­ents an increase of around 30 per cent. This has mainly been driven by a boom in solar power install­a­tions and new nuclear power stations, which are exper­i­en­cing a renais­sance world­wide.”

The following diagram was shown to illus­trate this:

Both the chart and the presenter’s state­ment are incor­rect and grossly misleading. In fact, according to the Inter­na­tional Renew­able Energy Agency (IRENA), the increase in renew­able energy capa­city in 2024 stood at 585 gigawatts (GW)¹. This is the largest expan­sion of renew­able energy ever seen glob­ally. As the IRENA report states: “Renew­ables accounted for a record 92 per cent of global power addi­tions, largely due to signi­ficant growth in solar and wind power”².

In contrast, there is nuclear energy: according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, there was an increase of seven new reactors in 2024, with a total capa­city of 8.2 GW³. However, the net increase amounts to only 4.3 GW, as four power stations were taken off the grid during the same period. Overall, the World Nuclear Industry Status Report states that 411 reactors were in oper­a­tion at the start of 2025 – two fewer than the previous year – whilst global total capa­city remained unchanged. Fewer coun­tries than before are building new react­ors⁴.

To refer to these figures as a ‘renais­sance of new nuclear power stations’ is incor­rect and unob­jective.

A direct compar­ison of the two figures – 585 GW (for renew­able energy) and 8.2 GW (for nuclear power) – clearly shows that, whilst there is talk of a boom in solar energy, there can be no ques­tion of a renais­sance in nuclear power.

By broad­casting this misin­form­a­tion, Hess­is­cher Rund­funk has breached Section 3(4) of the Hessian Broad­casting Act (HRG), which requires truthful and objective reporting. We there­fore call on hr, pursuant to Section 3(9) (“A false asser­tion must be recti­fied at the request of a relevant authority or private indi­vidual”), to comment on this matter without delay and to correct it in the programme at the same point. We request a separate response to the complaint we have lodged.

Kind regards 

Friederike Mayer, Chair­person • Daniel Kulms, Member of the Exec­utive Board