“Three months of nuclear power plant stretching could make sense”

Mr. Lilliestam, as a sustainability researcher, what do you think of the proposal to let the three remaining German nuclear power plants run longer in so-called extended operation because of the gas crisis?
The first question is whether this is even possible. In principle, that would probably be possible for a few months, even with the existing fuel rods. But performance would be reduced and would continue to decline. The operators must ensure that there are still enough employees despite the announced stop. The only question is whether this stretching operation is useful at all.

What’s your assessment?
Nuclear power supplies a non-fluctuating base load. Gas power, on the other hand, produces peak power that modulates up and down based on supply and demand. This means that the two forms of energy cannot be exchanged directly. Nationally, German nuclear power plants would not be able to replace German gas-fired power plants. Coal-fired power plants would be better suited because their electricity output is easier to regulate. But we don’t have a national crisis, we have a European crisis.