The Philippsburg 2 reactor near Karlsruhe in southwest Germany will be cut off from the grid over the coming fortnight

Germany was wrong to abandon nuclear power, the energy spokesman for Angela Merkel’s party has said.

The last atomic energy plants are due to be shut by the end of 2022, leaving the country struggling to plug the gap in its electricity generation and meet its climate targets as it prepares to abolish its coal industry.

Business leaders and conservative politicians have begun to demand a stay of execution amid soaring energy costs and a looming shortfall in capacity.

Germany will have to replace more than 40 per cent of its electricity sources over the next two decades. Coal-fired power stations still account for more than a third of its generation, with the seven remaining nuclear plants supplying about a tenth.

The Philippsburg 2