With the chancellor's word of power, Scholz ended a violent traffic light dispute about the lifetime of the nuclear power plants. But the fact that April should finally be the end of it does not let the FDP rest. Transport Minister Wissing is demanding an extension for the electricity requirements of electric cars.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing questions the nuclear phase-out planned in Germany in mid-April. Wissing told the "Bild" newspaper that for a successful ramp-up of electromobility, it was crucial that electricity prices did not get out of hand. With regard to the nuclear power plants, the FDP politician said: "If an extension of the service life can make a contribution to this, it should not be rejected prematurely, if only for reasons of climate protection. Electromobility only protects the climate if the electricity is produced in a climate-neutral manner."
After a word of power from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the federal government decided that the three remaining nuclear power plants should continue to operate beyond the end of the year until April 15th. After that, the use of nuclear power should be over.
The energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Kruse, said: "Renewable energies have been feeding hardly any electricity into the power grid for days. This shows that it was right to extend the operating times of the nuclear power plants. With the renewables alone there would be security of supply obviously not guaranteed this winter. Electricity must become clean and affordable in the long term." The Green Energy Minister Robert Habeck must present a concept at the turn of the year that will meet this requirement in the long term. "An extension of the term shouldn't be taboo. The electricity price has to go down."
Wissing had already criticized that the expansion of the power grid was not progressing fast enough. He told the "Welt am Sonntag". "Based on the needs calculations, I already see an urgent need for action." So far, the expansion has been based on current demand, not on the forecast demand. Jens Hilgenberg, traffic expert for the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation Agency in Germany, said: "In order to fully exploit the existing efficiency advantage of e-cars compared to combustion engines, you need cars that require as little electricity and raw materials as possible for production, operation and disposal." The task of a transport minister is to make the transport system fit for the future. "Instead of new autobahns for more and more cars, better climate-friendly public transport options are needed."
