
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expecting the result of the stress test soon, on the basis of which the government wants to decide on a possible, limited continued operation of nuclear power plants. This “will probably be available to us at the end of this month, beginning of next month,” said Scholz at a public discussion on Sunday. However, he pointed out that even extending the service life would only make “a small contribution” to solving the energy supply challenges.
The Chancellor also reiterated his rejection of a general renunciation of the nuclear phase-out. He referred to the high costs of current new construction projects in other countries and to the problems that exist in France with the operation of nuclear power plants. Renewable energies are “a better contribution to cheap and environmentally friendly energy supply”.
A limited extension of the term of one or more of the three remaining nuclear power plants Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2, for example through a so-called stretching operation, is under discussion. The use of the remaining capacities, especially at Isar 2, would be spread over a period of time into the coming year in order to be able to better cushion bottlenecks in winter.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also rules out longer running times for the last three German nuclear power plants to save on gas. With the continued operation of the nuclear power plant, gas consumption could be reduced by a maximum of two percent, said the Greens politician on Sunday at a public dialogue on the federal government’s open day. “For the little we win there, it’s the wrong decision.”
There are other ways to save gas. The Green politician said that the consensus on the nuclear phase-out should not be untied again. Something else is the question of power grid stability, especially in Bavaria in winter. “That could become a problem under certain conditions.”
Habeck referred to failures there in the expansion of renewable energies and the expansion of transmission networks. He sees this as a “mistake by the Bavarian state government”. However, he also affirmed that “continuing to run from nuclear power plants is not the right way”.