According to the current legal situation, the three remaining nuclear power plants will be taken off the grid at the end of the year. In March, the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Environment Ministry rejected a possible continued operation after an examination. In view of the tense situation on the energy markets, another stress test on the security of the electricity supply is now being carried out. The results should be available shortly – after that the government wants to decide on a possible further operation of the nuclear power plant.
“The planned decommissioning of the three nuclear power plants that are still in operation would worsen the current energy crisis,” says the position paper that the FDP parliamentary group passed at their closed meeting. “Continued operation would not only noticeably reduce the demand for scarce natural gas.” He would also ensure that expensive gas-fired power plants run less often and dampen electricity prices “noticeably”.
“Precautions for continued operation must now be taken immediately in view of the worsening electricity crisis,” the paper says. “If this results in the need to purchase more fuel elements, efforts to do this must be initiated at short notice.”
Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) said at a meeting of the executive board of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag that the federal government should “now really exhaust all possibilities for energy production”. This includes “also quite explicitly nuclear energy”.
With the three remaining nuclear power plants, the electricity supply could be secured for ten million households; with three power plants shut down in the past year, another ten million households. “Not doing this is irresponsible,” said Merz.
The head of the CSU state group in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, also called for the continued use of nuclear power plants. New fuel rods would now have to be ordered “to close the energy gap”.
“We finally need a decision: nuclear power must continue in Germany,” said Söder to the “Handelsblatt”. This must not only apply to the three power plants that are still active, but also to the piles that will be shut down at the end of 2021.
The Greens immediately rejected the proposal. Nuclear power plants could replace “maximum one percent” of gas consumption in power generation, said parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge. The call for the extension of the term is a “sham debate”.
During the Green Party meeting, Dröge named the “crisis of French nuclear power plants” as the reason for the current high electricity prices. Many reactors in the neighboring country are currently not connected to the grid due to maintenance work and technical problems.
The Greens still have numerous suggestions as to how the capacities for renewable energies could be increased instead of extending the term, Dröge said. These measures could be “short-term, realistic and quick”.
The co-chairman Britta Haßelmann said the Greens did not want a lifetime extension. She also warned to wait for the results of the stress test.
