AKW term extension: The Greens are under pressure


analysis

Status: 09/25/2022 4:45 p.m

The Greens have to choose between energy security and the nuclear phase-out that is so important to them. It is a risky game for the party and its Economics Minister Habeck.

By Oliver Sallet, ARD Capital Studio

It’s an election campaign in Lower Saxony – and Jürgen Trittin is once again ranting about his favorite topic. “Climate and social justice” was the theme of his performance on Saturday in the “Lagerhalle” in Osnabrück. But one concern drives people here in the north, where nuclear power has been fought for decades: will the only nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony really go offline at the end of the year, as has been planned for a long time?

You only have to look to France, says Trittin, where many reactors had to be taken off the grid in the summer due to a lack of cooling water in the rivers. Nuclear power is therefore not suitable for security of supply: It is “a disaster”.

Coalition partner calls for nuclear power plants to continue operating

But one thing is clear: The Greens are under pressure, and the demands to let the piles run longer, at least with one stretching operation, do not stop. The fear of a blackout in winter due to a lack of gas supplies and the need to generate electricity from gas is too great.

In the traffic light coalition, the FDP is loudly demanding that nuclear power plants in Germany continue to operate, and they are receiving support from the opposition. In Bavaria, the CSU has come under a lot of pressure because of its energy policy. The state government in the south would not have done enough to expand its own network, so the accusation. So it’s no wonder that Bavaria is sticking with the Isar 2 nuclear power plant, say the Greens.

A catchy opposition topic should remedy the situation when the party leaders of the Union – Merz and Söder – met in August for a memorable advertising appearance in front of the Meiler Isar 2 near Landshut. Merz made it clear that there are no technical, personal or legal obstacles to extending the term. The only thing that has to be decided is: “Is it also politically possible?”

Risky game for Habeck and the Greens

It is a dilemma for the Greens: On the one hand, there is the much-discussed founding myth, the anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s, which is still deeply rooted in the party base today. On the other hand, government responsibility and the need to pursue realpolitik – in the midst of the biggest energy crisis in decades. Economics Minister Robert Habeck, who demonstrated against nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster, is being pushed ahead of him by his own party.

It’s a risky game for Habeck and the Greens, who must now decide whether to prioritize energy security or their political beliefs. This became clear most recently when the results of a new stress test were announced in Berlin.

Although he recommends the continued operation of the nuclear power plants in Germany, Habeck tries to get out of the political arena with a balancing act between satisfying his own party and energy security for the winter. Instead of extended operation, he proposes an unprecedented operational reserve, with which the nuclear power plants can be taken off the grid but, in extreme cases, can be started up again.

Nuclear power plant operator: reserve operation “technically not feasible”

However, the operator of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant thwarted Habeck’s plans. In a letter to the Federal Ministry of Economics, ARD Capital Studio is available, the company PreussenElektra explained in August that the reactor is ready for an extension of the service life beyond December 31st.

However, after Habeck had announced the reserve operation, a second letter followed in September, which clearly warned that reserve operation was “technically not feasible and therefore unsuitable”. Even more: A restart “is not practiced in this form and we have no experience with it”.

A later message about a defective valve again caused confusion. Although it enables the reactor to be operated safely until the end of the year, it does not allow reserve operation beyond 2022. Otherwise the valve must be repaired immediately. The message and the letters to the ministry are now part of a mystery surrounding Isar 2 and the operator PreussenElektra.

Expert expects high costs for operational reserve

But the critical attitude towards reserve operation is also popular among experts. Emeritus Professor of Nuclear Energy Systems at ETH Zurich, Horst-Michael Prasser, confirms that Habeck’s plans have hardly been tested. He is surprised that the federal government let so much time pass with its decision.

If fuel had been ordered a year ago, says Prasser, the nuclear power plants could supply 100 percent of the energy throughout the winter. With the now planned operational reserve, Prasser calculates that there will also be costs of one million euros per reactor and day – without even a single kilowatt hour of electricity being produced.

On Sunday, September 25, 2022, 6 p.m., the first will broadcast a contribution on this topic in the “Report from Berlin”.

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