Nuclear power plant reserve: Continued “political disagreements” | tagesschau.de

The government continues to argue about the planned nuclear power reserve. Contrary to what was planned by Federal Minister of Economics Habeck, the cabinet has not yet given the green light – apparently the FDP is blocking it. Now time is running out.

The traffic light coalition still cannot agree on the nuclear power reserve proposed by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck. The Federal Ministry of Economics announced that a cabinet decision planned for Monday had not been taken.

Because of the energy crisis, Habeck wants to keep two nuclear power plants operational until spring in the event of power supply bottlenecks. He had proposed allowing the use of the nuclear power plants Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg until mid-April 2023 at the latest. To do this, the Atomic Energy Act and the Energy Industry Act must be amended. According to the current legal situation, all three German nuclear power plants that are still in operation – the third is the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony – will be taken off the grid by the end of the year.

“Unable to keep tight schedule”

There was “a clear understanding with the coalition partners” to “get this bill on the operational reserve through the cabinet this Monday, despite different perspectives,” the ministry said. “Due to political disagreements, however, this agreement was withdrawn. As a result, the tight schedule for the procedure cannot be kept, which was communicated to the operators today.”

The delay is “a problem if you want Isar 2 to still produce electricity in 2023,” the ministry added. “The repairs to the nuclear power plant must be carried out promptly, the nuclear power plant operators need clarity.” The ministry “continues to work for solutions, otherwise you will be left without Isar 2 due to delays,” warned the Habeck department.

In coalition circles, it was also said that the delay was due to objections from the Federal Ministry of Finance. From the department of finance minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner, it was said that the continued operation of just two power plants alone was not sufficient: “Further steps are necessary to guarantee security of supply and to expand the range of available electricity.”

Conflict between Greens and FDP

A valve leak was discovered in the Isar 2 nuclear power plant. It would probably have to be repaired by October at the latest, because the reactor core would then no longer have enough reactivity to be able to start up the nuclear power plant again with the existing fuel elements.

The cabinet decision on the so-called operational reserve had already been expected for October 5, but did not take place at the time. Now another appointment has been made. The background is a conflict primarily between the Greens and the FDP. The liberals are demanding that the nuclear power plants run much longer because of the current energy crisis.

The Liberals also want to check the restart of reactors that have already been shut down. The Greens reject both. In the course of the nuclear phase-out, it was actually intended that the last German nuclear power plants would be taken off the grid at the end of the year.