Robert Habeck probably wants to keep two nuclear power plants

Berlin Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to keep two of the three nuclear power plants still in operation in Germany ready for emergencies and keep them in operation beyond the actually planned shutdown at the end of the year. The two nuclear power plants Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 would be “transferred to a reserve”, said Habeck on the occasion of the presentation of the results of the second stress test. They would then be used “if the situation requires it,” said Habeck. According to Habeck, they should “still be available until mid-April 2023 in order to be able to make an additional contribution to the power grid in southern Germany over the winter of 2022/23 if necessary”. This also means that “all three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid in Germany are scheduled to go offline at the end of 2022,” he added. The third nuclear power plant is the Emsland reactor in Lower Saxony.

“We are sticking to the phase-out of nuclear power, as regulated in the Atomic Energy Act,” said Habeck. New fuel elements would not be used and in mid-April 2023 the two nuclear power plants in reserve would also be closed. “Nuclear power is and will remain a high-risk technology and the highly radioactive waste will burden tens of future generations,” said the minister.

The four operators of the electricity transmission system operators – 50Hertz, Amprion, Tennet and TransnetBW – carried out the stress test. In three scenarios, they determined whether sufficient electricity would be available at all hours over the coming months. “Our message is very clear: It makes sense and is necessary to use all generation capacities,” said 50Hertz boss Stefan Kapferer when presenting the results.

The second stress test was carried out by the four transmission system operators in the period from mid-July to early September 2022. Compared to the first special analysis from spring, the assumptions regarding the effects of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine on the energy market have been significantly tightened and scaled up in stages. The calculations also take into account other possible bottlenecks in power plant availability.

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With his advance, Habeck falls far short of the demands of the coalition partner FDP. The Liberals demand that all three reactors continue to be operated at least in stretch mode in order to stabilize the power supply system. In addition, the stretching operation should have a price-dampening effect on the electricity market until spring 2023. We speak of stretching operation when the existing fuel rods are used for a few weeks or up to three months beyond their planned service life – with a continuously decreasing output.

But Habeck recommends a different solution to the coalition: the two reactors in southern Germany should only be available as an emergency solution. “They are kept ready for use, but no longer produce electricity,” said Habeck. They should only be switched on when a supply bottleneck threatens.

Michael Kruse, energy policy spokesman for the FPD parliamentary group, said the results of the stress test were of little value because the assumptions were too optimistic. “They are politically determined and not derived from reality. Not only has there been a need for more electricity in Germany for a long time, but the skyrocketing electricity prices are forcing the economy to its knees,” said Kruse. The lack of an extension for the nuclear power plants in Germany is therefore an unnecessary burden for electricity customers. “Instead of continuing to produce cheap electricity with available power plants, power plants that have been written off go into reserve. The electricity markets need the continued operation of existing power plants as a sign of relief.”

Shortly before the Stresst results were announced, FDP leader Christian Lindner had called for all possibilities to be used “to reduce the price of electricity for people and companies”. This is “an economic policy stress test that must also play a role in addition to the energy policy stress test”.

In the coalition, however, the FDP is in the minority on the question of extending the term. SPD leader Saskia Esken said on Monday after deliberations by the party leadership that all arguments against the use of nuclear energy were “still correct”.

The top of the Union faction criticized Habeck’s decision. The three remaining nuclear power plants “could deliver energy and electricity for Germany safely, reliably and affordably in this crisis,” said Jens Spahn (CDU), deputy leader of the Union faction. “And they should continue to do so for at least the next two winters.”

Spahn called it remarkable that the nuclear power plant in Emsland, Lower Saxony, was apparently not even being considered for continued operation, even though it was the newest of all the nuclear power plants still in operation in Germany. In Lower Saxony there will be a state election on October 9th. The Greens “prefer to switch off climate-neutral nuclear power plants and let the climate killer coal run more if there is any doubt. With the Greens, the ideology of the party takes precedence over the interests of our country.”

Spahn’s colleague Steffen Bilger (CDU) added that the decision “is insufficient in view of the exploding electricity prices and also in view of an impending power shortage that can pose significant problems for us in Germany this winter, but also beyond.” Europe also expects something different from Germany.

The fact that Habeck only wants to keep the two reactors in southern Germany – Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and Isar 2 in Bavaria – in reserve has to do with the special situation there. Secured power plant capacity is scarce in the south. One speaks of guaranteed performance when power generation capacities can be used in a plannable manner. This is the case, for example, with coal, gas and nuclear power plants – unlike with renewable energies, whose generation capacity is volatile and can only be forecast to a limited extent. If the two nuclear power plants in the south – Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg – were shut down at the end of 2022, a significant part of the secured power plant capacity in the two federal states would be lost. The coal-fired power plants in the south are not enough to compensate for this. Gas-fired power plants, on the other hand, could have problems in times of restricted gas supply. At the same time, there is a lack of power transmission lines that could ensure the supply of wind power from the north to the south.

The Bavarian economy has been pointing to the tense situation in the south for months. There is a demand “to leave the three existing nuclear power plants connected to the grid for a limited time, at least until the end of the 2023 heating period,” said Bertram Brossardt, Managing Director of the Bavarian Business Association (VBW). “We already have a supply problem on the European electricity markets, which otherwise threatens to worsen, leads to extremely high electricity prices and also endangers the security of supply,” Brossardt warned. Bavaria is particularly affected because the transmission grid is not sufficiently developed to transport electricity from the north to Bavaria without grid bottlenecks. “The coming winter will therefore be a serious test for the energy supply. That is why we need a broad energy mix. Baseload nuclear power is an important pillar here,” he said.

More: “Must know the facts in their purest form” – Union calls for open debate on nuclear stress test

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