Two nuclear plants’ lives extended as country copes with loss of Russian gas and shortage of French electricity
Germany’s planned exit from nuclear power by the end of this year has been officially delayed in order to shore up energy supplies during an expected shortfall this winter, the economic minister, Robert Habeck, announced on Tuesday.
He said that the resulting gap in electricity supplies was being “observed with concern”, with Europe’s energy network in danger of being put under too much strain, potentially leading to power cuts. The electricity that Germany is not able to acquire from France is being compensated for with electricity produced by gas-fired power stations in Germany. But this in turn involves using up valuable supplies of gas that Germany is trying to save before winter arrives.
Habeck had long resisted calls for the power plants in southern Germany – Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 – to be extended as Germany coped with the effect of Russia slowing down, and then turning off completely, its gas supply via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 earlier this month. But his arguments against keeping the plants in operation became increasingly difficult to defend.
His decision amounts to an awkward U-turn, though Habeck said it was a reaction to the current situation, including what he called an escalation of the situation in Russia, “which is developing fairly dramatically”, and that he was resistant to populist demands.
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