Robert Habeck’s ministry has announced a new stress test. Depending on the result, nuclear power plants could run longer than planned.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The federal government could decide to continue operating the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany beyond the end of the year.
A government spokeswoman said on Monday in Berlin that the issue of nuclear power plants had not been an ideological issue for the federal government from the start, but a purely technical one. She referred to an announced second stress test on the security of the electricity supply. “That is the basis of decisions.”
A spokeswoman for Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said that decisions would be made on the basis of facts and analyses. There is now the second stress test calculation that is being made to sound out other scenarios. The first calculation had already assumed more stringent assumptions. “But still, we’ll calculate again and then decide on the basis of clear facts.”
Britta Haßelmann, parliamentary group leader of the Greens, was critical of an extended term for the nuclear power plants. The results of the second stress test would then be evaluated when they are there, Haßelmann told the Handelsblatt. “That doesn’t call Germany’s nuclear phase-out into question.” Nuclear power is a “high-risk technology.”
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Wanting to remedy a gas shortage with nuclear power, “that is and remains a bogus debate.” The first stress test showed that the supply of electricity is guaranteed even under more stringent conditions.
Economy Ministry announces stress test
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the second attempt is to determine whether the security of supply in the electricity sector and the secure operation of the grid are guaranteed under more stringent assumptions. A government spokeswoman said the results are expected “in the next few weeks”. The stress test was announced on Sunday.
The chairwoman of the parliamentary group Bündnis 90/Die Grünen rejects an extension of the nuclear power plant running times.
(Photo: IMAGO/Christian Spicker)
The chairwoman of the Greens parliamentary group Haßelmann speaks in the test of a “special view of Bavaria, because the CSU has been delaying the expansion of the grid and wind power there for years”.
>> Read here: Coalition dispute over longer nuclear lifespans continues to smolder
The chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Christian Dürr, renewed his call for a temporary continued operation of the three nuclear power plants that are still on the grid. “We must do everything we can to prevent such an emergency. This also includes the temporary continued operation of the last three nuclear power plants,” he said.
Dürr warns of the drastic consequences of a gas supply stop from Russia: “If gas supplies from Russia are permanently stopped, there is a risk of a real crisis,” he told the Handelsblatt. “It’s not just about drastically rising heating costs, but also shut down production in industry or empty supermarket shelves.”
In the past few days, various politicians have called for nuclear energy to be used to generate electricity for longer to compensate for the lack of gas supplies from Russia. The opposition Union is also in favor of this. So far, however, the FDP and CDU/CSU have not fundamentally questioned the decision to phase out nuclear energy.
According to current law, the three nuclear power plants Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 must be shut down by December 31, 2022 at the latest. Economics Minister Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) had advised against longer operating times for nuclear power plants in a test report in March. It was said at the time that a small contribution to the energy supply would be opposed to major economic, legal and safety risks.
With agency material.
More: FDP and CDU fight for longer use of nuclear power – sharp reaction from the Ministry of the Environment