A debate about the future of coal and nuclear energy has flared up in Germany. Against the background of the Ukraine war, the Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses has called on the federal government to implement an energy moratorium. “In plain language, this means that the government-driven phase-out of coal must be suspended immediately, and the remaining nuclear power plants must remain online beyond the end of the year,” said Federal Managing Director Markus Jerger. Otherwise there is “the real danger of a widespread blackout. A highly industrialized economy like Germany needs a reliable energy supply with a high degree of independence.”
The war in Ukraine shows Germany’s dependency and vulnerability in terms of energy supply. At the same time, this leads to fears of further massive price increases for private households and companies. “The time of wishful thinking about energy policy is over. The federal government must adapt its energy policy to the new realities,” said Jerger.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) had Saxon newspaper said that the decisions to phase out coal or nuclear power would have to be discussed again. Former EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger (CDU) called for the shutdown of the last nuclear power plants to be postponed.
Three nuclear power plants in Germany will continue to supply electricity until the end of 2022, when they will be taken off the grid and the phase-out of nuclear power will be completed. The phase-out of coal is to be completed gradually by 2038 at the latest, but the traffic light is aiming for an advance to 2030.
Energy companies don’t think much of phase-out phase-out
Ifo boss Clemens Fuest pleaded in the New Osnabrück newspaper also for not taking the German nuclear power plants still in operation off the grid for the time being. This should apply at least “until the dependence on Russian natural gas is overcome, which is likely to be several years”. But Fuest also said: “Postponing the nuclear phase-out is a complex undertaking in which many legal and organizational issues have to be clarified and negotiations have to be carried out with the operators.” The exact duration of the extension is only one aspect, albeit an important one. “But it would not make sense to commit to a certain number of years before this clarification.”
The three German energy producers Eon, RWE and EnBW reject such considerations. “Years ago, the legislature decided that nuclear power in Germany has no future. Continued operation of our Isar 2 nuclear power plant beyond the statutory deadline of 2022 is not an issue for us,” said an Eon spokesman for the Rheinische Post.
EnBW also stated that the Neckarwestheim 2 plant would be finally shut down by December 31, 2022 at the latest. “The question of extending the service life does not arise for EnBW. The phasing out of nuclear energy was decided in 2011 in a political and social consensus and is clearly regulated by law,” said a spokesman. The RWE group, which operates the Emsland kiln, referred to an earlier statement by RWE boss Markus Krebber, who had said: “The issue of nuclear power is off the table in Germany. In the short term, it would not be possible to start up the nuclear power plants again.”
Because of Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas, Saxony and Brandenburg are also questioning whether the coal phase-out should be brought forward. “The entire energy transition is suddenly subjected to a reality check and a stress test,” said Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) of the daily newspaper “Die Welt” according to the preliminary report on Saturday. An early exit date from coal is out of the question. According to Kretschmer, the federal government must now quickly decide what needs to be done in the short term and what needs to be done in the long term.
Lang wants to speed up the expansion of renewable energies
Brandenburg’s Energy and Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) also expressed his doubts about bringing forward the federal government’s coal phase-out, which is planned for 2038 according to the current law, to 2030. “It is not yet possible to conclusively assess whether we in Germany can end coal-fired power generation faster than legally stipulated,” said Steinbach. One can only commit to this when the planned verification steps have been completed in a few months. The changed geopolitical situation must be taken into account.
The energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Kruse, opposed taking modern coal-fired power plants such as the Hamburg-Moorburg coal-fired power plant, which went into operation in 2015 and shut down in 2021, off the grid. “I think we would be wise to suspend the dismantling of modern base-load power plants such as the power plant in Hamburg-Moorburg in order to have enough options for action in terms of energy policy,” said Kruse. The plan for a complete phase-out of coal is ambitious and depends primarily on the accelerated expansion of renewable energies.
Green leader Ricarda Lang is sticking to the coal phase-out in 2030. “Coal is not a bridging technology, but a mistake,” said Lang der Funk media group. “If we abandon the coal phase-out in 2030, we are abandoning the Paris climate agreement.” It is now a question of significantly increasing the pace of the expansion of renewable energies.
In the course of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a discussion arose about the high dependence on Russian imports of fossil fuels. “Dependency on Russian gas makes us vulnerable in Europe. More independence is also part of our response to Putin,” Lang said. “We are well positioned in terms of security of supply for spring and summer. But we have to make provisions for autumn and next winter.”