“Where the hell is this energy when it comes to renewable energy?”
Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future
Source: dpa/Paul Zinken
German politics is struggling to deal with the energy crisis and is heavily criticized. For climate activist Luisa Neubauer, coal and nuclear power are being thought of as solutions in the completely wrong place.
AFrom the point of view of climate activist Luisa Neubauer, the current energy crisis is giving too much importance to the use of coal and nuclear energy and too little to the expansion of renewable energies. “If you are now pouring so much energy, creativity and money into coal or nuclear, where the hell is that energy when it comes to renewable energy?” the Fridays for Future activist told editorial network Germany (Saturday Editions).
In the current debate, the potential of energy providers such as the wind and the sun are “systematically ignored”, criticized Neubauer. “It gives the impression that we have no other option than coal and nuclear energy. This is ‘irresponsible’ and ‘a change of course’ is necessary,” demanded the activist.
Federal Minister for Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck (Greens) announced on Monday that the southern German nuclear power plants Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 should be placed in an emergency reserve beyond the legally prescribed end of December 31 and restart if necessary. He ruled out continued operation beyond reserve maintenance. Habeck’s announcement was met with criticism from both inside and outside the stoplight coalition.
In talks with the RND, Neubauer did not categorically reject further use of nuclear power. “In the worst case, nuclear power will still have to be used now,” he said. In any case, an extension of the useful life of two of the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany “must be measured with the demands of the present and not with the demands of the 1980s.”
Ministry for the operation of the nuclear power reserve: the operators knew in advance
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the operators of the three nuclear power plants that are still in operation were aware of this option even before the decision to run an emergency reserve was made. The talks took place before the political decision was made, a spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWK) said on Friday. These talks, which deal with the implementation of a possible reserve operation, are currently continuing.
The background is the current discussion about the technical feasibility of a nuclear reserve operation, as the federal government has in mind. Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presented plans on Monday according to which the remaining three German nuclear power plants should cease regular operation by the end of the year, as agreed in the Nuclear Phase-out Act, but Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 (EnBW) power plants must remain in reserve and, at the latest, permanently shut down in mid-April. As a result, the operator of the Bavarian Akw Isar 2, Preussenelektra boss Guido Knott, expressed doubts and criticized the planned standby operation in a letter as “technically not feasible”. Habeck immediately rejected it.