Three nuclear power plants in Germany are still supplying electricity – until the end of 2022. But should they continue to run in order to increase energy security in view of the Ukraine war? Berlin gives a clear answer.
Longer operating times for the remaining nuclear power plants in Germany are off the table for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environment.
With a view to the Ukraine war and in the event of a failure of Russian energy supplies, the two houses had examined whether the power plants should continue to be used. The result: Longer terms are neither useful nor justifiable, said Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) on Tuesday. “A small contribution to the energy supply would be opposed to major economic, legal and safety risks.”
Review note: Extension not recommended
A joint test report from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environment states: “As a result of weighing up the benefits and risks, an extension of the service life of the three remaining nuclear power plants is not recommended, even in view of the current gas crisis.” An extension could only make a very limited contribution to solving the problem, and at a very high economic cost. The state would have to take risks on a large scale. This is not related.
Lemke said that the extension of the term of a high-risk technology would not be responsible for security reasons either. Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said on RTL / ntv “Frühstart” when asked whether longer terms for nuclear power plants were off the table: “I would say yes.” Longer terms would not help next winter: “And for the long-term only if we are willing to make massive security cuts.”
Söder asked for an extension
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), for example, had previously called for the lifespan of nuclear power plants to be extended to ensure energy security in view of the war in Ukraine. The accelerated nuclear phase-out was passed by law in 2011. According to the Atomic Energy Act, the Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 power plants will be the last reactors to be shut down by December 31 at the latest.
The President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management, Wolfram König, said: “We are currently experiencing how a war with conventional weapons against nuclear plants can bring the civilian use of nuclear energy into a previously unimaginable risk situation for people and the environment.” Shutting down the reactors and thus limiting the amount of waste would have paved the way to a safe repository and significantly improved nuclear safety in Germany: “An extension of the service life for a few reactors with a very limited share of the power supply would endanger this.”
According to the Federal Minister’s note, a change in the Atomic Energy Act and an allocation of new amounts of electricity would be necessary for nuclear power plants to run longer. However, an extension would not bring any additional amounts of electricity in the winter of 2022/2023, but only from autumn 2023 at the earliest after refilling with newly manufactured fuel rods.
Fuel elements come from Russia
The operators also pointed out this problem. A spokeswoman for PreussenElektra, an Eon subsidiary and operator of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant, told the “Rheinische Post” that fresh fuel elements could only be available in a good 1.5 years. In addition, the companies would then probably have to look for new uranium suppliers. “In the last few years of operation of our power plants, we obtained the uranium required for the fuel elements from Kazakhstan and Russia and in small quantities from Canada.”
The note from the ministries also states that the remaining nuclear power plants made a “limited contribution” to the electricity supply. Rather, it must now be a matter of reducing dependency on imports from Russia and pushing ahead with the expansion of renewable energies, according to the ministries. The federal government has been taking intensive precautions for weeks so that the gas storage tanks are filled and reserves of coal are created.
“We don’t need to extend the lifespan of nuclear power plants to secure the energy supply,” said energy expert Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research. “Nuclear power plants only supply electricity, currently around six percent of the total amount of electricity. We can easily produce this proportion with renewable energies.» Extending the service life would increase the safety risk, create more nuclear waste, and require more uranium, including from Russia.
Source: Stern
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