Stress test results out: Habeck announces verdict on nuclear power plant extension

Stress test results are available
Habeck announces verdict on nuclear power plant expansion

09/05/2022 13:58

Will the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany still be connected to the grid after the end of the year? A stress test should discuss this issue, among other things. In the end, however, it is also a highly political decision. The idea causes considerable abdominal pain, especially among the Greens.

After weeks of examination, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck presents the results of the second stress test on security of energy supply this afternoon. As announced at the Federal Press Conference, the Green Minister will appear before the press at 6:00 p.m. together with representatives of several transmission system operators. The central question of the review is whether it is considered necessary to continue operating nuclear power plants in winter.

According to the current legal situation, the last three German nuclear power plants will be taken off the grid by the end of the year. In March, the Federal Ministry of Economy and the Federal Ministry of the Environment rejected a possible continued operation after an examination. In view of the tense situation in the energy markets and the lack of Russian gas deliveries, the government decided to carry out another stress test to ensure the security of energy supply.

The Union has been warning for weeks of possible power outages in winter and calls for the reactivation of three other nuclear power plants that closed last year. In the traffic light coalition, the FDP in particular is promoting the continued operation of the three power plants that are still in operation, and does not rule out the purchase of new fuel rods, which would allow the useful life to be extended by several years.

In the case of the Greens, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has not ruled out a continued short-term operation of at least the Bavarian Isar 2 nuclear power plant through the so-called extension operation. With it, nuclear power plants would only remain connected to the grid for a few weeks or months beyond the turn of the year without new fuel rods being used. However, in parts of the green base, the resistance is also high.

SPD leader Saskia Esken reiterated that her party would accept at most a stretching operation. The SPD was “not prepared in any way” to extend service life by several years or even to bring old reactors back into operation, she said in Berlin.