Speaking of Germany... their subsidies to wind and solar energy helped dramatically drive down the cost of both: https://energytransition.org/2016/01/how-germany-helped-brin...

This was done due to environmental factors, not as a financial instrument.

> and are scared of nuclear.

That part is definitely true. After seeing that even a high-tech nation like Japan couldn't keep their nuclear reactors safe, nuclear was no longer seen as a viable option.