opinion poll
Majority of Germans are open to longer nuclear power plant operation
According to a survey, more than half support the continued operation of German nuclear power plants. photo
© Armin Weigel/dpa
The majority of Germans are in favor of longer-term operation of German nuclear power plants. The continued operation is also a central topic at today’s party conference of the Greens.
According to a survey during the energy crisis, more than every second person in Germany is open to continuing to operate German nuclear power plants in the longer term. A total of 56 percent of those surveyed can imagine operations beyond 2024 or are even in favor of it. This is shown by the results of a representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency.
Of the 2,027 respondents, 19 percent said German nuclear power plants should continue to run “indefinitely,” and a further 37 percent said German nuclear power plants should continue to operate beyond 2024 “if the energy crisis requires it.”
Around one in three is in favor of a clear limitation of the terms. 12 percent were in favor of operation until the end of 2024 at the latest. This essentially corresponds to the position of the FDP, which is pushing for all three remaining nuclear power plants to continue operating until 2024. 14 percent advocated continued use this winter until April 2023.
Habeck wants to keep nuclear power plants in reserve
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has proposed keeping two of the three remaining German nuclear power plants in reserve so that they can be used in the event of power shortages. He had recently stated that he assumed that it would be necessary to use them until spring.
A further 10 percent of those surveyed said that German nuclear power plants should be taken off the grid by the end of the year, as provided for in the nuclear phase-out. A heated argument has broken out in the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP over how to deal with the last three German nuclear power plants. While the FDP is pushing for a longer period of operation, the Greens in particular reject this.
The topic also plays a role at the federal party conference of the Greens in Bonn, which starts today and will deal with the topic of energy on the first day. The federal board of the party wants to submit an application for a vote that supports the reserve operation proposed by Habeck. “In the extreme emergency, however improbable it may be,” continued operation of the nuclear power plant would be conceivable. The two southern German nuclear power plants Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 are to be put on standby and, if necessary, used until spring, “without new fuel elements”.