Germany rules out nuclear to save gas

The economy minister says the plants don’t have enough capacity to make a significant difference in the power supply

Germany should not keep nuclear power plants running to ensure the power supply, as their capacity is insufficient to make up for natural gas shortages, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday.

“It is the wrong decision given the little we would save,” Habeck said at a meeting with citizens at the government’s open-door day, as cited by Reuters.

Berlin is deciding whether to extend the lifespan of the country’s three operating nuclear power plants to make up for the rapidly dwindling natural gas supplies from Russia. However, according to Habeck, keeping the plants running would only save 2% of gas, which is insufficient and unlikely to help the situation, especially as it would require revisiting debates over former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s legislation to halt the use of nuclear power by the end of 2022.

Habeck said one nuclear power plant in Bavaria could be allowed to carry on, but only if a stress test can show that it is able to sufficiently help out with the power supply this winter. Separately, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the results of the test will be available by the end of the month or in early September, when the final decision regarding the nuclear power plants will be made.

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