Berlin The steps are small, but Robert Habeck moves. A few months ago, the Federal Minister of Economics ruled out continued operation of the remaining German nuclear power plants (NPP) beyond the end of the year, and he recently moved two of the three reactors still in operation to an operational reserve.
Habeck took the next step on Tuesday evening: He thinks it is likely that the reserve will also be used to run the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim reactors for at least four months beyond the previously planned nuclear phase-out date.
The question arises: Was that the last step? If the FDP has its way, it wasn’t him. The Liberals have been pushing for weeks to use the nuclear power plants at least until 2024 and to include the Emsland power plant in Lower Saxony.
Habeck wants to continue taking it off the grid as planned at the end of the year. And Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim should definitely be over by mid-April at the latest, as he confirmed again on Tuesday.
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But the FDP senses further possibilities with Habeck’s next step, which should exacerbate the coalition dispute with the Greens. “The continued operation of two nuclear power plants is a real step for a Green Minister – that deserves respect,” announced FDP party deputy Johannes Vogel shortly after the Minister for Economic Affairs’ decision. “In the current energy crisis, however, we need more.”
The FDP federal executive board has just passed a resolution that sounds like a request to the coalition partner: “The temporary continued operation of the three remaining German nuclear power plants until at least 2024 reduces gas-fired power generation and makes a noticeable contribution to the security and affordability of the power supply.”
AKW: Network stability or price relaxation
The question of continued operation of the nuclear power plants until 2024 is not just about a year more or less. The planned four-month extension for Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim would just be a stretch: the existing fuel rods are simply used longer.
>> Read here: Habeck will probably leave nuclear power plants connected to the grid for longer
If you want to extend the service life beyond that, you will probably have to get new fuel rods. And that will hardly work, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Firstly, the supply of fuel rods is too small because a large part of the production is in Russian hands, the competition on the rest of the world market is correspondingly high and the German operators are much too late.
From Habeck’s point of view, an important argument is that longer operation of the nuclear power plants would not help at all. The Economics Minister argues that the stretching operation is only about stabilizing the power grid.
Habeck leaves two nuclear power plants longer on the grid
That’s why he only wants to rely on the southern German piles and not on Emsland. There is hardly any alternative energy production in the south, and a lot of electricity is currently flowing to France because the neighboring country has major problems with its own nuclear reactors.
In fact, nuclear power only contributed seven percent to electricity generation in Germany in August. Even a longer-term continued operation would hardly help to save gas, Habeck explained on Tuesday.
The FDP, however, finds that Habeck is downplaying the effect, especially with regard to the price of electricity. The continued operation of the three nuclear power plants would “not only stabilize the grids physically, but also send a welcome price signal through more supply on the electricity exchanges,” argues FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner regularly.
If the federal government is now working on a gas price and electricity price cap, then from the point of view of the liberals, this also includes using every opportunity to increase the energy supply. The commission of experts set up by the federal government, which is advising on a gas price cap, may also speak out in favor of this.
What role does the Lower Saxony election play?
With a view to the price of electricity, the Liberals also want the Emsland nuclear power plant to continue operating. Some FDP members consider it likely that this will be Habeck’s next step and that the Green politician will only wait for the state elections in Lower Saxony in early October.
Wolfgang Steiger, Secretary General of the CDU Economic Council, also says: “It is imperative that the continued operation of the Emsland reactor be announced shortly after the state elections in Lower Saxony.” Habeck has known for a long time that this is necessary, also because of the electricity prices.
For many Greens, however, the electricity price argument does not hold up legally. Criteria anchored in the law for the decision on nuclear reactors are only the operational and security of supply, not the electricity prices.
Nevertheless, the FDP leadership is willing to push the issue further. There are different assessments of the chances of success. Some liberals say the issue is so sensitive for Habeck that they probably can’t ask for more. The Green politician is under a lot of pressure in his own party, after all, the Greens emerged from the anti-nuclear movement.
Other FDP representatives consider the move by the Minister of Economic Affairs on Tuesday to be a sign of departure in the direction of their own demands.
More: Nuclear waste right next door: How Switzerland is fueling the German repository debate