Debate on nuclear power plant terms: where is the chancellor’s word of power?

Should the lifetime of the last three nuclear power plants in Germany be extended? This is being argued about – even in traffic lights. Chancellor Scholz could end the debate with a word of power. Why doesn’t he?

Because of the war in Ukraine, the federal government must prepare for all conceivable energy policy scenarios – including a month-long interruption in gas flows. That is clear to everyone in the traffic light government. It is important to avoid social rifts in autumn and winter, when gas volumes should become too scarce to still meet all the demands of industry and households. Since the beginning of the war, the question of nuclear power plant runtime extensions has arisen again.

The SPD is trying to downplay the issue by calling it a “sham debate” – and thus assuming that the political opponent has party tactical motives: Not everything that CDU leader Friedrich Merz considers “technically possible and legally justifiable” is also sensible , says SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch. Whether it’s for appearances or serious – the debate continues. Some take them very seriously – even within the government factions.

The statements become clearer

The FDP, the smallest coalition partner of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, initially called for at least a “debate” about this in the person of party leader Christian Lindner. In the meantime, the statements are becoming clearer: “No more cubic meters of gas should have to be converted into electricity. That’s why it would be right now to extend the operating times of the nuclear power plants beyond the winter,” says Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group.

CDU party and parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz is helping the FDP – after all, the topic for the opposition party is one of the few where it can drive a wedge into the traffic light. “Dear Greens, jump over your shadow. No bans on thinking. Do it for Germany,” wrote Merz in the “Bild” newspaper. The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, CDU, said that common morning magazine from ARD and ZDF, it cannot be explained why old lignite-fired power plants are connected to the grid, but not nuclear power plants: the first loser of this policy is the climate.

“No taboos”

Arguments that are likely to catch the eye of many citizens – the traffic light coalition will probably not be able to get rid of the debate, which is also being led by the opposition and experts, that quickly. For Scholz and his Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck as well as for Environment Minister Steffi Lemke – responsible for nuclear safety – the matter is clear. First of all, Economics and Climate Protection Minister Habeck issued the motto “no taboos” immediately after the outbreak of war and also issued a test order for an extension of the lifetime of nuclear power. Both ministries then came to the conclusion that if the nuclear power plants continued to operate, there would be a reduction in the safety of the nuclear power plants – and have therefore rejected this option.

Is Scholz keeping a back door open?

What is clearly missing, however, is a real word of power from the chancellor in the direction of the FDP. The government spokesman emphasizes that Scholz is following the test results of the two ministries – and would only talk about a temporary extension of the term once the security concerns have been resolved. And yet he seems to be letting the debate between the two coalition partners, the Greens and the FDP, continue. Is Scholz keeping a back door open?

By the end of next week at the latest, he will know whether Russia is still supplying gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – or whether there is a politically motivated gas freeze. This could be a new situation in which facts are evaluated differently again. It is therefore noticeable in the Ampel government that in such a critical energy policy situation they do not want to make any clear definitions for the coming months.

In financial policy, this applies to the debt brake, the FDP’s sacred cow, as well as to nuclear power, the phasing out of which is a lot of green heart’s blood. It can be assumed that both parties know that they may have to temporarily reassess some things in an escalating crisis situation in the autumn.

In any case, the FDP contradicts the security argument in the nuclear power plant debate tagesschau.de vehemently: “The fact that the power plants are said to be unsafe from January 1, 2023 would only be understandable if the power plants were no longer being operated safely. However, we do not assume that the Ministry of the Environment and the responsible supervisory authorities as well as the Operators would have allowed such a situation. According to TÜV statements, continued operation is feasible with the same level of safety.”

Nuclear power plant operators disagree

In fact, however, the situation is much more confusing in terms of reports and opinions from experts and operators than supporters and opponents of the extension of the service life would have you believe: TÜV Süd, to which the FDP and also the Bavarian CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder refers, found in an expert opinion that the continued operation of the Isar II nuclear power plant, which is still in operation in Bavaria, was at least technically justifiable for a limited period of time. Its operating company Preussen Elektra sits on the board of a so-called industry association called “KernD”, the former German Atomic Forum.

This association, in turn, contradicted the expert opinions of the two green federal ministries in a paper and also considers continued operation for a limited period of time to be possible. But two of the three operators of nuclear power plants that are still in operation have left the association – RWE is one of them. Group boss Markus Krebber contradicts the CDU and FDP. He thinks the debate is backward-looking. The required fuel rods cannot simply be bought from somewhere, they have to “fit exactly to the reactor type”, according to the RWE boss. It’s not just about the availability of fuel rods, but also about safety issues – “and who takes what risks”.

FDP continues to put pressure on

If it is clear that the state will then have to be liable with tax money, will Finance Minister Lindner still be in favor of it? “If there is the political will to continue operation for a limited period of time, these questions can be solved,” said FDP parliamentary group leader Lukas Köhler when asked tagesschau.de. It seems that Scholz and Habeck will stay in the political debate for a long time.