According to CSU boss Markus Söder, the renewed debate about the safety and general condition of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant is wrong. “So if you try again to discredit nuclear energy again through routine maintenance, that won’t work,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister on Wednesday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. A decision must now be made to extend the terms.
In this context, Söder again attacked Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) and the federal government: The basic problem is the endless hesitation, hesitation and back and forth on the subject of nuclear energy. “Now a clear statement is needed and that can only be said at this time: let it continue,” said Söder.
It was announced on Monday that the nuclear reactor built in Essenbach near Landshut in 1988 would have to be repaired by October at the latest if it was to continue operating after December 31. The reason is an internal leak in a pressure valve in the cooling circuit. For this, the reactor would have to be shut down for around a week and could only be restarted once after the repair.
Nuclear power critics then called for the immediate shutdown. The federal government announced that, based on the new situation, it would want to re-examine whether the plan to use Isar 2 and the Neckarwestheim reactor as an emergency reserve from January to April can be maintained. The Union does not consider the reserve operation to be sufficient and calls for an extension of the service life for several years, including the use of new fuel rods.