Germany is considering granting an extension to nuclear power. However, according to the Deputy Director of the Radiation Protection Agency, the power plants are not necessarily prepared to remain operational beyond the end of the year.
Germany’s energy crisis will probably force the country’s government to reverse its decision to close the remaining nuclear power plants by the end of the year, estimates a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Marco Siddi In an interview with .
Germany has been speeding down its nuclear power plants since the 2011 nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, Japan. Now, however, the German government is considering granting an extension to nuclear power plants that are still running and launching an investigation into the matter.
– If the nuclear power plants are in working condition, keeping them running shouldn’t be too controversial in the end. It seems that public opinion and political will are leaning towards the continuation of nuclear power, says Siddi.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured back in June that Germany will stand by its decision to completely withdraw from nuclear power by the end of the year. Also the Minister of Economy and Energy of the Greens Robert Habeck has sworn that, despite the energy crisis, the government will not consider extending the life of nuclear power.
– I expect that the Greens will finally make a concession here, in the same way they did with the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline turbine, Siddi predicts.
Siddi also estimates that Russia is unlikely to stop gas supplies to Germany once and for all, as it would be too expensive for Russia. Instead, gas deliveries would continue to be cut off in the future as a retaliation measure for new economic sanctions.
In order to solve the energy crisis, Germany has already decided to use closed coal-fired power plants and oil-fired power plants, Chancellor Scholz announced (you switch to another service) on Saturday.
Germany closed three nuclear power plants at the end of last year. The six nuclear power plants operating in 2021 produced an estimated 12 percent of Germany’s electricity production.
The three nuclear power plants still in use produced approximately six percent of the electricity produced in Germany in the first quarter of 2022.
A new assessment of nuclear power plants in a few weeks
The nuclear power plants still in use in Germany are the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in the state of Bavaria, the Emsland nuclear power plant in the state of Lower Saxony, and the Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plant in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
According to a report commissioned by the government in March, continuing to keep nuclear power plants running would require “stress testing” their safety.
The March report showed “very clearly” that “we do not recommend extending the service life in the current situation”, the German Ministry of the Environment commented yesterday in the newspaper Der Spiegel by (you switch to another service).
The Greens are represented by Minister of Economy Habeck and Minister of Climate Change Steffi Lemke have referred to the March estimate and said that nuclear power would not exactly increase energy production, but it would increase security risks.
However, Germany’s electricity grid operators have been demanding a new assessment of the operational condition of nuclear power plants for months.
The results of the survey being carried out now are expected in a few weeks, the Ministry of the Environment informs.
The readiness of nuclear power plants to continue is an enigma
Deputy director of the Radiation Protection Center Tomi Routamo says that it is impossible to accurately assess the condition of the three nuclear power plants without knowing the details.
– I have not heard of any real safety concerns about these three nuclear power plants. But it may be that some maintenance measures should have been done in a different way if the intention is to use these facilities for a longer period of time.
Routamo reminds that the three nuclear power plants have had to demonstrate that it is safe to use them until the end of this year, but not beyond that.
– Plant parts wear out when they are used. If it has already been decided not to acquire spare parts for key components, the time to acquire them can be long enough to cause problems.
According to Routamo, it is also unclear how the three power plants closed at the end of last year have been maintained. Their possible readiness for use in an emergency is still a bigger question mark than the three nuclear power plants in use.
– There are really many issues to be clarified here before a decision can be made even about the continuation of these facilities that are currently in use. There are even more issues to be resolved in order to restart these already stopped plants, Routamo sums up.
According to Routamo, Germany’s nuclear power plants may have to stop electricity production for a while, even if a decision is made to continue their operation.
– We have no way of knowing what kind of preparation there has been for the possible continuation of use.
You can discuss the topic until 23.00 on July 20, 2022.