Germany rules out extending nuclear plant lifetimes

• 2 years ago (2022-03-09)
• David Flin

Europe 1089 Nuclear 659

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Germany has decided not to extend the lifetime of its existing nuclear fleet, despite concerns over energy security.

The decision to close down its 9.5 GW nuclear fleet had been made in 2011 in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, with 4.2 GW having been shut down between then and now. That decision came under scrutiny in the light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which led to concerns being raised about supplies of gas from Russia.

The German government enquiry decided on 8 March not to recommend keeping the country’s remaining nuclear fleet online, and that it was too late to reactivate those plants which have already been closed down.

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said: “We have again examined very carefully whether a longer operation of the nuclear power plants would help us in this foreign policy situation. The answer is negative. It would not help us.”

The assessment was conducted by the economy ministry held by Habeck and the environment ministry headed by Steffi Lemke, both from the Green Party.

The government’s assessment of the merits of nuclear power comes after Russia openly threatened to halt gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany.