energy
FDP parliamentary group leader Dürr calls for longer runtimes for Akw
Christian Dürr, chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, is in favor of extending the lifespan of old nuclear vehicles in Germany. Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa
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Russia could throttle its gas supplies to Germany or even stop them altogether. Would a longer service life for old nuclear vehicles be a solution? The FDP is now increasing the pressure in the traffic light coalition.
Within the traffic light coalition, the FDP is increasing the pressure for longer service lives for the remaining nuclear power plants in Germany. Group leader Christian Dürr told the German Press Agency with regard to the debate about gas supplies from Russia: “We don’t want to paint the devil on the wall. But we have to prepare for a scenario that could have far-reaching consequences for private households and German industry. Not a cubic meter of gas should have to be converted into electricity. It would therefore be right now to extend the operating times of the nuclear power plants beyond the winter.”
Gas has not been delivered via the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline since Monday due to maintenance work. This usually takes up to ten days. However, because of the Ukraine war and Western sanctions against Russia, there is now great concern that the gas tap will remain closed. FDP parliamentary group leader Dürr said: “It can happen that after the maintenance work on Nord Stream 1 no more gas flows.” Russian President Vladimir Putin does what he wants. “It would hardly be surprising if he used technical reasons to finally turn off the gas tap.”
Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (both Green) had advised against extending the service life of the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany, which are scheduled to go offline at the end of 2022. “A small contribution to the energy supply would be opposed to major economic, legal and safety risks,” says an audit report from the ministries.
Dürr also said: “We should also talk about the production of gas in the North Sea. Anyone who talks about cold showers and warm sweaters in these weeks is mistaking the seriousness of the situation. Ideological debates don’t help us a bit in winter when supply shortages threaten.” The primary goal of the federal government must be a secure energy supply. »As sensible as it is in principle to use energy sparingly, a secure supply is now the top priority. We have to exhaust all possibilities for that.”