Status: 08.03.2022 8:50 a.m
Should the running times of German nuclear power plants be extended to prevent supply bottlenecks? The Ministry of Economics and the Environment are against it – and the operators also see high hurdles.
Despite possible energy supply bottlenecks due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke have spoken out against extending the life of the remaining nuclear power plants.
“As a result of weighing up the benefits and risks, an extension of the service life of the three remaining nuclear power plants is not recommended, even in view of the current gas crisis,” quoted the newspapers of the Funke media group from a joint test report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment.
Short-term extension not economical
An extension of the service life of the three nuclear power plants still in operation would not bring any additional amounts of electricity in the winter of 2022/2023, but at the earliest from autumn 2023 after filling with newly manufactured fuel rods. Continued operation would have to be accompanied by an extensive safety check and the training of personnel for each of the three nuclear power plants.
In order to justify the effort economically, an extension of the terms “for at least three to five years is necessary,” says the paper. The economics and environment ministries assume that in the period up to 2028 “other options will be available to ensure an adequate power supply despite a gas shortage”. In addition, there are doubts as to whether an extension can be justified under constitutional law.
Nuclear companies also see high hurdles
Today, German energy ministers are meeting for a special conference to discuss energy security after the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Ministry of Economics said in advance: “An extension of the terms could only make a very limited contribution to solving the problem, and at very high economic costs. The state would have to take on a large number of risks here. This is disproportionate.”
The German nuclear companies also believe that the feared energy bottlenecks can hardly be compensated for quickly by longer operating times for nuclear power plants. A spokeswoman for PreussenElektra, a subsidiary of the energy group e.on, pointed out that the delivery of new fuel rods would take a long time.
“After an initial estimate, we assume that fresh fuel elements could be available in a good 1.5 years,” she told the “Rheinische Post”. In addition, the companies would then probably have to look for new uranium suppliers. “In the last few years of operation of our power plants, we obtained the uranium required for the fuel elements from Kazakhstan and Russia and in small quantities from Canada.”
Kretschmann: No bans on thinking
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, on the other hand, did not rule out extending the operating times for coal-fired and nuclear power plants. Economics Minister Habeck rightly said that security of supply must be guaranteed and that there should be no ban on thinking. “I see it that way too,” Kretschmann told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “We now have to find short-term solutions – and in the medium term there is no way around further pushing the expansion of renewable energies in order to make ourselves independent of fossil fuels.”
At the turn of the year, the Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen nuclear power plants went offline. Since then, only the Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 piles have been supplying electricity, and they are scheduled to be shut down at the end of this year.