FAQ
Status: 17.10.2022 11:13 a.m
The nuclear dispute is growing into a serious traffic light crisis. The Greens and FDP are sticking to their positions. The Chancellor’s party wants the dispute off the table. Time is running out. How did it come to this – and what could a compromise look like?
the initial situation
Actually, the nuclear phase-out in Germany at the end of the year is a done deal. This is also what the coalition agreement between SPD, Greens and FDP states. Then came the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and with it the energy crisis – and with it a new old nuclear debate. Three German nuclear power plants are currently still online: Isar 2 in Bavaria, Neckarwestheim in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony. The Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck now wants to keep the two southern German nuclear power plants connected to the grid longer – in so-called reserve operation, until mid-April. The third reactor in Lower Saxony (Emsland) that is still active should not be part of this emergency reserve and should be switched off on December 31st.
What is reserve mode?
Reserve operation, emergency operation, stretch operation, operational reserve – everything means roughly the same thing: the nuclear power plant is not shut down at the end of the year, but is held in reserve and can therefore continue to generate electricity if required. Minister Habeck also expects that the nuclear power plants will be needed in winter. New fuel elements do not have to be purchased for this. However, a change in the law is necessary, otherwise the operation of all nuclear power plants will expire on December 31st.
Where is the problem?
Naturally, Habeck’s plans met with little approval from his Greens, but there they are willing to extend the maximum possible term of two nuclear power plants by a few months – but no longer than April 15, as a party convention decision at the weekend determined. The base gave Habeck a “red line”. Until here and not further. However, Habeck experienced tangible resistance from the coalition partner FDP. Habeck’s plans do not go far enough for the liberals and they therefore refuse to give their approval to the legislative plans from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
What does the FDP want?
The party around finance minister Christian Lindner wants all three remaining nuclear power plants to continue operating until 2024. If possible, nuclear power plants that have already been shut down should also be restarted and new fuel rods purchased. The FDP considers it absurd to take the three nuclear power plants off the grid in times of scarce and therefore expensive energy. The continued operation is therefore an “energy policy necessity”.
How do the Greens argue in the dispute?
Meaning: We have moved in terms of content, now the FDP has to move. “In this special situation, we are ready to jump over our shadows to ensure security of supply,” said Greens boss Ricarda Lang in the joint morning program of ARD and ZDF. “That’s already a compromise offer. I hope that the other side will now be willing to go along with it.” She categorically refused to buy new fuel rods. This would “cement nuclear power for the future”.
… and the FDP?
According to the FDP, the question of energy security “must not be about party politics”. “When it comes to averting damage to our country, reducing the ruinously high energy prices, preventing blackouts – then there are no red lines for me,” said FDP leader Lindner. And to the accusation of not moving in terms of content, the finance minister replied: “I’ve jumped over my financial policy shadow billions of times when I see what we’re doing in terms of debt-financed aid or the strengthening of the Bundeswehr.”
What does the chancellor’s party actually say about this?
So far, there has been no clear positioning from the SPD. But Scholz and Co would like to have the dispute over with quickly. However, the Chancellor has to put up with the accusation that he let the looming conflict run for a long time in his traffic light. In terms of content, the SPD is probably a little closer to the position of the Greens. With regard to the FDP, Parliamentary Secretary Katja Mast emphasized “that what we have agreed together must also be implemented”. She was referring to the agreement reached by the coalition leaders on September 29, including a €200 billion defense against high energy prices. The coalition leaders had also agreed: “We are also now creating the opportunity to run the southern German nuclear power plants until spring 2023.” These are the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim nuclear power plants. The Greens also refer to the traffic light agreement, keyword “double boom”. The FDP contradicts: There was no agreement on the matter. Lindner even publicly stated in the press conference on the defense shield that the FDP considers a further decision by the federal government to be necessary.
Why is time pressing?
For two reasons: 1. Because the operators of the nuclear power plants need to know whether and how things will continue with their reactors. At the Bavarian power plant Isar 2, for example, maintenance work is required on a valve so that it can continue to run beyond the end of the year. And 2. Because the Atomic Energy Act needs to be changed. The nuclear phase-out is legally anchored at the turn of the year, so every extension of terms requires a change in the law. In order for this to be implemented, it must be approved by the Bundestag this week. An agreement between the coalition factions should be reached by Wednesday at the latest. And if not? Then the FDP would be left empty-handed, and all three parties would assume political responsibility if there were to be power cuts in winter – and Germany would not only be in an energy crisis, but also in a serious government crisis.
What role does the argument of grid stability play?
The problem could be the grid stability in southern Germany in winter. Habeck’s ministry points out that less electricity is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind and sun in the south, but that important industrial centers there have a great need. There is also a lack of network connections in Bavaria. In northern Germany, on the other hand, floating oil power plant ships should be used to cover possible gaps, so the Emsland nuclear power plant is not necessary as a reserve. the network operator, who carried out a stress test on behalf of the ministry advocated the reserve operation of two reactors as one element in a bundle of measures.
The proportion of electricity generated by nuclear power plants is small. According to official figures, in the first quarter of 2022, nuclear power plants generated six percent of the electricity in Germany, and gas-fired power plants 13 percent. In addition to electricity, gas-fired power plants often also generate thermal heat and therefore cannot simply be replaced by a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plants are difficult to control and are therefore not suitable for being flexibly combined with wind or solar power. Because the shutdown of the three remaining nuclear power plants was planned for the end of 2022, long-overdue safety checks were also no longer carried out.
What’s next?
On Sunday, a crisis talk between Chancellor Scholz and his ministers Habeck and Lindner ended without a result. At least without a publicly announced compromise. In general, it is unclear what a solution could look like. After the Green Party Congress, Habeck has little scope for further concessions. Unless he ignores the decisions. FDP boss Lindner is also under maximum pressure to succeed. For him, after four unsuccessful state elections, it is also about the liberal profile in the increasingly unpopular traffic light constellation.
For Scholz, this conflict with the announcement also comes at the wrong time. The picture that his government paints in these times of multiple crises is not harmonious and many people increasingly lack understanding for party bickering. According to DeutschlandTrend, the approval ratings for traffic lights have recently fallen significantly.
A compromise could be to leave all three remaining nuclear power plants connected to the grid until mid-April next year. But not until 2024 and without purchasing new fuel rods. Representatives of the FDP and the Greens have recently been forgiving and cautiously optimistic. The coalition has often wrestled with each other again, also in public, but has always been able to find an agreement, Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge said Report from Berlin. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai was also confident that the traffic light coalition would find a good solution – on Monday or Tuesday.