The decision on extended operating times for German nuclear power plants is still pending.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has ruled out longer running times for the last three German nuclear power plants to save 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 during a public dialogue on the federal government’s open day. “For the little that 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.
According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the decision on extending the term is still open. The result of the stress test for the three nuclear power plants still in operation will be completed “by the end of the month, maybe early next month,” said Scholz at the open day in the chancellery. Then it will be decided whether the piles should be used beyond the end of the year.
However, nuclear power plants could only make a small contribution to solving the energy problem anyway. How problematic the technology is can be seen in France, where many nuclear power plants are currently failing. New buildings are so expensive that, unlike renewable energy, they cause high electricity prices.
The government has commissioned a so-called stress test for the power grid operators, the results of which should be available in the next few weeks. It is being examined whether it might be necessary to extend the operation of the nuclear power plants in order to keep the grid stable and guarantee security of supply.
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One of the factors that plays a role here is that France has taken many of its nuclear power plants off the grid for maintenance work and is therefore partly supplied by Germany. The problem for France could be exacerbated in winter, as the country also relies heavily on electricity for heating.
Habeck said that the question of power grid stability, especially in Bavaria in winter, is something other than the question of extending the service life. “Under certain conditions, this could become a problem.” Even if Bavaria’s reasons are due to the lack of expansion of wind energy or the grid, security of supply must be guaranteed. However, there is no result of the test yet.
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