“If Germany wants to save gas, let it run its nuclear plants”
“The central government is very afraid of the yellow picker problem.”
“If wind power can’t change everything, we have to rely on whatever is available,” stresses WELT chief commentator Jacques Schuster. He explains the current developments in the energy crisis and says that one can think of a “pipeline from Turin to Bavaria”.
Anger at Germany is growing within the EU. After all, the central government’s commitment to shutting down the last nuclear power plants by the end of this year is inexplicable.
ADissatisfaction with the German government’s phasing out of nuclear power is growing in other EU countries, given the gas crisis. According to research by the German Press Agency, many countries are insisting not to close the three remaining nuclear power plants at the end of this year as planned. Additionally, the three reactors that were recently shut down need to be checked to see if they can be restarted.
From the perspective of countries such as Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and France, the continued operation of German nuclear power plants can make a significant contribution to saving gas, as about 15 percent of Germany’s electricity is produced by gas-fired power plants. . If Russia cuts off all gas supplies to the EU, more reserves will be available for domestic and industrial heating.
“If Germany wants to save gas, please let its nuclear power plants continue to operate – or the three that were shut down last year, and let them go back on the grid,” Slovakia’s economy minister, Richard Sulik, criticized on Tuesday. EU consultations in Brussels. He said that 15 billion cubic meters of gas can be saved by running six nuclear power plants continuously. That’s half the amount the EU wants to save in its gas savings plan, he said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had made a similar statement earlier. He openly criticized the EU Commission for not forcing Germany to continue operating nuclear power plants. Orban said last Saturday that even though nuclear plants produce cheap energy, Brussels authorities are allowing them to shut down. If they run out of energy, they will try to take gas stored in Hungary.
Orban was referring to an EU emergency plan for the gas crisis that was decided against Hungary’s wishes on Tuesday. It provides for a voluntary reduction of 15 percent in national consumption between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. In addition, the possibility should be created to trigger a union alarm and set binding savings targets in the event of remote supply disruptions. For example, states that no longer supply gas to households must be supplied by states that have remaining supplies.
Germany currently has three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid: Emsland in Lower Saxony, Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckerwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg. Under current law, they actually have to be switched off by December 31, 2022. In the federal government, the Greens are staunchly opposed to the extension. The only option is to keep the nuclear power plants still in operation running for a little longer with the remaining fuel components. In particular, the Isar 2 nuclear power plant may continue to operate till May next year.
The Greens are currently rejecting the purchase of new fuel elements, and the continued operation of Isar 2 is only possible if it is useful for preserving the stability of the power grid. Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) recently reiterated that if the remaining fuel elements in the three nuclear power plants were fully utilized, Germany’s gas consumption would be reduced by only 0.7 percent. SPD government politicians argue similarly, while the FDP is in favor of extending the term.
The three nuclear power plants in Germany that experts say are the Brockdorff (Schleswig-Holstein), Grönde (Lower Saxony) and Gundremingen C (Bavaria) nuclear power plants. Joachim Buhler, executive director of the TÜV association, recently told “Bild” newspaper that restarting the closed reactors in 2021 is “not a question of years, but of months or weeks”. It is above all a question of political will. “We are confident that all three power plants are in a safe condition so that they can be reconnected to the grid,” Buhler said.
Van der Leyen: “Energy Mix in EU Member States Capacity”
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently rejected accusations that she was not involved in the nuclear debate. “The energy mix is the responsibility of the EU member states,” he said in a dpa interview. However, he notes that many EU members consider nuclear energy to be a bridge technology. For example, the Belgian government decided in March to postpone the planned phase-out of nuclear power by the end of 2025. It is now scheduled to be held after ten years.
In the interview, van der Leyen also made it clear why Germany’s demand for unity in nuclear storage would be heard if the nuclear phase-out is maintained. “Even member states that rarely buy Russian gas cannot escape the consequences of a possible supply cut in our internal market,” he said. Economies are closely intertwined. The gas crisis will affect every member state in one form or another.
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