Extending the lifetime of nuclear power plants is becoming socially acceptable

Berlin The note published by the two Greens Ministers Robert Habeck (Economy) and Steffi Lemke (Environment) on March 8, two weeks after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, is brief and clear. “As a result of weighing up the benefits and risks, an extension of the service life of the three remaining nuclear power plants is not recommended, even in view of the current gas crisis,” reads the last sentence of the five-page paper.

The industry, too, immediately rejects the topic. Just a few days after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, RWE boss Markus Krebber dismissed the issue: “The issue of nuclear power is off the table in Germany,” he said at the end of February. RWE operates one of the last three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid in Germany: the reactor in Emsland, Lower Saxony.