The President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management, Wolfram König, rejects extended service lives for nuclear power plants in Germany.
"Such an assessment would not only have to take into account the safety of the nuclear power plants, but also the disposal of the radioactive waste," writes König in an article for the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung". "In both cases, the costs to society as a whole for continued operation of the systems would be considerable," König pointed out. "The societal consensus that has been achieved with great difficulty would also be fundamentally questioned."
There are currently three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid in Germany: Emsland in Lower Saxony, Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg. According to the law, however, they should be switched off at the end of 2022. Among other things, they are discussing letting them run a few months longer in a so-called stretching operation. Green politicians do not rule that out either, but they point to a new stress test on the power supply ordered by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).
Koenig also has serious doubts about the timetable for the search for a site for a nuclear waste repository in Germany. According to the law, the decision for a repository site should be made by 2031, so that storage can begin from 2050. "My Federal Office has repeatedly reminded the company commissioned with the site search that the process is progressing, so that the legally stipulated timetable is adhered to. Another 20 years are to be expected before the repository is ready for operation," writes König. "Today I have to state that I no longer consider the goal of 2031 to be realistic."
Dobrindt: Nuclear power plant term extension by five years conceivable
CSU regional group head Alexander Dobrindt, on the other hand, believes that nuclear power plants in Germany can run for several years. In the "Welt am Sonntag" the CSU politician called for a decision on "reasonable energy". "We will be exposed to Putin's brutal attempt to destabilize the West through energy terrorism for a long time to come. In this situation, lifetime extensions for nuclear power by at least another five years are conceivable."
Lower Saxony's Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann also advocated allowing the three German nuclear power plants still connected to the grid to run longer. In principle, the nuclear phase-out should not be called into question, said the CDU's top candidate for the state elections on October 9th. In view of the looming gas and electricity shortages, however, people expected pragmatic solutions to get through the winter safely. "In this respect, one must not rule out an option that is obvious," said Althusmann. A so-called stretching operation - in which electricity is produced longer with the previous fuel elements - is absolutely necessary. Althusmann also called for fuel elements to be ordered from abroad and put back as a precaution in order to prevent an energy gap if the worst came to the worst.
Trittin: Bavaria needs to save more electricity
The Greens politician Jürgen Trittin called for more electricity to be saved in the direction of the CSU. "We have a regional problem, in Bavaria. And I say to the Bavarians: You can do a lot there, especially save electricity," said the former environment minister to the "Tagesspiegel". "The fact that the Bavarian Alps are snowed with snow cannons in winter has to be put to the test. In Bavaria, we have a gigantic potential for saving electricity that is far in excess of what Isar 2 could deliver."
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder replied that with 53 percent of electricity from renewable energies, Bavaria is well above the national average and is now also getting significantly better at using wind energy. At the same time, the CSU leader accused the Greens of having an unclear attitude towards the continued operation of nuclear power plants. "With its hesitant Tiki-Taka policy on nuclear energy, the federal government has already lost a lot of time because of the Greens," Söder wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Lemke: The stress test is intended to assess the situation
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" with regard to Isar 2: "If the stress test shows that Bavaria could actually have a serious electricity or grid problem, then we will evaluate this situation and the options that then exist. "
Green parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann called it "obvious" what Söder, CDU leader Friedrich Merz and politicians of the FDP are actually about: "The withdrawal of the nuclear phase-out." Nuclear power is a "dangerous and expensive high-risk technology". On the other hand, one must focus on energy saving, efficiency and the expansion of renewable energies. Greenpeace nuclear expert Heinz Smital also emphasized the risks: "CSU and CDU act dubious if they act as if the reactors can simply continue to run and even restart nuclear power plants that have already been shut down." The fact is that there have been no mandatory safety checks on nuclear power plants for years.
Ex-Environment Minister Trittin believes that a party conference is necessary to clarify the Greens' position on longer terms. "If you seriously want to change the Atomic Energy Act, you can't do that without a party congress," Trittin told the Tagesspiegel. Trittin emphasized that a so-called stretching operation is also an extension of the service life. The Atomic Energy Act would have to be changed for this. "We won't touch that," said Trittin with conviction. Otherwise, the FDP hopes to renegotiate everything possible with the Union, he said.
