Berlin Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has received a lot of criticism for his decision not to allow the last three nuclear power plants to continue operating despite the energy crisis. But Habeck remains stubborn. His ministry points out that a whole bundle of measures has been launched to ensure the security of the power supply in the coming winter. The decision to operate the two reactors in reserve should therefore not be viewed in isolation.
Habeck announced on Monday evening that two of the three nuclear power plants still in operation in Germany should be kept ready for emergencies until mid-April. These are the reactors Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and Isar 2 in Bavaria. The Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony is to be shut down by the end of the year.
Critics say the decision is wrong. They would at least have wished for the stretching operation of the systems. Stretching operation occurs when the fuel rods in a reactor are used for up to three months beyond their planned service life with continuously decreasing output.
The Liberals openly oppose Habeck
The decision caused a dispute in the coalition. The Liberals openly opposed the Green Economy Minister. The deputy FDP parliamentary group leader Lukas Köhler said: “It would be a joke if two nuclear power plants continued to run with all the associated costs, but were not allowed to produce electricity in the middle of a serious energy crisis.” The FDP parliamentary group calls for the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants until 2024.
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Not only the liberals criticize Habeck’s decision. Economics Veronika Grimm said the power plants “should be running and not just on stand-by”. Because only then would there be a lowering effect on the price of electricity. “If it is to be expected that the supply of electricity will continue to decrease at the turn of the year, this will definitely be reflected on the futures markets,” she said. In view of the price development on the electricity market, everything must be done to mobilize generation capacities that could be made available at short notice. “This includes the coal-fired power plants, but also the nuclear power plants,” said Grimm.
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Grimm recommends planning beyond a stretching operation. “In the case of the three nuclear power plants that are still in operation, one should think about extending the service life by five years. It should also be checked whether the nuclear power plants that have just been shut down can be reactivated,” she says. In this way, it can be ensured that prices remain within limits and that the supply is always guaranteed.
Habeck on the nuclear reserve: “Reasonable and necessary decision”
The industry strongly criticized Habeck’s announcement that it would not operate a stretcher: “The fact that the government is doing without electricity from nuclear power plants during the greatest energy crisis in the history of the Federal Republic is bad for the energy supply and energy prices,” said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm Handelsblatt. “More than half a year has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Enough time to organize the continued operation of the nuclear power plants and to give a clear signal in favor of extending the service life,” he added.
The envisaged solution from 2023 is “just a small step”. A reserve for a few months does not help to depress the high prices.
Will gas consumption in the electricity sector increase?
The management consultancy Enervis, which specializes in energy management issues, points to the negative effects of Habeck’s planned solution: “Our calculations show that the decision to extend the nuclear power plant’s service life is sobering from an energy management perspective. Gas consumption in the electricity sector will increase and dependency on electricity supplies from abroad will increase,” said Mirko Schlossarczyk from Enervis.
Compared to a planned phase-out of nuclear energy at the end of 2022, the decision that has now been made could increase the electricity production of the German power plant park by a total of six terawatt hours in the best case. However, if the three nuclear power plants were to remain connected to the grid until the end of 2023, production would increase by 19 terawatt hours. To put this in perspective: the net electricity consumption in Germany in 2021 was around 508 terawatt hours.
The four electricity transmission system operators carried out the stress test: 50Hertz, Amprion, Tennet and Transnet BW. In three scenarios, they determined whether there would be sufficient electricity available at all hours over the coming months to keep the grids stable and prevent a blackout. “Our message is very clear: It makes sense and is necessary to use all generation capacities,” said 50Hertz CEO Stefan Kapferer.
The opposition accused Habeck of refusing to face reality. “Germany is heading for a massive energy supply crisis, triggered by the war in Ukraine, exacerbated by completely absurd decisions by this federal government,” said Union faction leader Friedrich Merz. Merz called the stress test “incomplete”. Placing grid stability in the foreground of the test only illuminates half of the problem – according to him, it would be more important to take care of the energy supply as a whole.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) called on the SPD and FDP not to agree to the Federal Minister of Economics’ plans. Habeck’s “individual decision” should not be made the decision of the federal government, but must be corrected. “The Federal Ministry of Economics is clearly overwhelmed at this point,” said Söder.
But opponents of nuclear power also consider Habeck’s initiative to be wrong – albeit for completely different reasons: the small benefit is disproportionate to the risks, according to the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND). “It is incomprehensible that nuclear power plants that cannot make a significant contribution to security of supply should remain in reserve,” said BUND boss Olaf Bandt.
Green: It’s about more than just emergency operation
The Federal Ministry of Economics counters the critics by saying that it is about more than just the emergency operation of the two reactors in southern Germany. The move to keep the Neckarwestheim 2 and Isar 2 reactors available as a “cold reserve” for emergencies should be seen in the context of other measures. Ministry circles said on Tuesday that the departmental vote for an amendment to the Energy Security Act and other changes in numerous other laws had been initiated.
The first measures that were named as recommendations for action in the second stress test of the transmission system operators would also be implemented. This includes, for example, increasing the transport capacities of the electricity grid. In addition, a “special crisis tender for solar systems” with a volume of 1500 megawatts (MW) is planned for January 15th. And you create incentives for three years to increase electricity production from biogas plants.
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In addition, further process simplifications for the construction of LNG terminals are planned. The aim of this measure is to “secure the greatest possible gas feed-in at the Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven and Lubmin sites this winter”.
With his announcement that he would keep two reactors in reserve for emergencies, Habeck put the operators in a difficult situation. This decision was not expected, according to the operators. It is not trivial and also without precedent to put the systems into a kind of “hibernation” in order to then start them up on request. The power plants are not built for that.
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