Germany's last three nuclear power plants will close their doors on Saturday, marking the end of the country's nuclear era, which has lasted for more than six decades. Nuclear power has long been controversial in Germany. There are those who want to end reliance on a technology they see as unsustainable, dangerous and a distraction from accelerating the use of renewable energy. For others, however, closing nuclear power plants is short-sighted. They see it as turning off the tap on a reliable source of low-carbon energy at a time when drastic cuts to pollution caused by global warming are needed. While these debates continue, and despite last-minute calls to keep the plants running In the midst of the energy crisis, the German government has been unwavering. "The German government's position is clear: nuclear energy is not green. It's not sustainable," Steffi Lemke, Germany's federal minister for the environment and consumer protection and a member of the Green Party, told CNN. "We are entering a new era of energy production," she said. (Laura Paddison, Nadine Schmidt a Inke Kappeler, CNN)