Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 6 (Xinhua) -- German Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Robert Harbek said on the 5th that the only three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany will be closed within the year as planned, but two of them will be in a "standby state" and will be restarted in the event of a power supply shortage.
According to the German government's plan, the only three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany were scheduled to be decommissioned by the end of this year. However, with Russia slashing gas supplies and a severe drought in Europe, there is a growing demand for continued nuclear power in Germany, with opposition parties and members of the ruling coalition calling for longer service at nuclear power plants.
This is the city hall in Hanover, Germany, photographed on the evening of August 1. In response to the energy shortage, Germany has taken measures to save electricity. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joachim Schersky)
Habek said in a statement on the 5th that the three nuclear power plants still in service will be "rolled off the line" as planned, but the "Isar 2" nuclear power plant in Bavaria and the "Necka Westerheim" nuclear power plant north of Stuttgart will enter "standby mode" until mid-April next year, if there is an "electric shortage" in between, it will be reactivated.
These three nuclear power plants generate about 6% of Germany's total electricity generation. The two nuclear power plants that are not decommissioned have an installed capacity of 1,400 megawatts.
High-voltage power grid photographed outside Frankfurt, Germany, on April 23. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang
Hubbeck said the German government no longer took Russian gas into account when formulating its energy security policy, and it was "no surprise" that Russia stopped supplying Nord Stream-1 gas.
Gazprom said on the 2nd that due to the discovery of multiple equipment failures, the "Nord Stream-1" natural gas pipeline will stop gas transmission until troubleshooting. The pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany via the baltic seabed, is Russia's main gas pipeline to Europe.
This is a thermal power station photographed in Frankfurt, Germany, on October 8, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang
Natural gas accounts for about 15% of Germany's total electricity generation. Habeck said the likelihood of a "power shortage" in Germany, a major exporter of electricity, was "very low" and that restarting nuclear power plants was only a backup option in the worst-case scenario.
The Liberal Democrats, one of Germany's opposition parties and members of the ruling coalition, are unhappy with Habeck's decision. They argue that under the current circumstances, nuclear power plants should continue to be used, not decommissioned.
Nuclear power plant operators say it is debatable whether it is feasible to make nuclear power plants a backup power station, "nuclear power plants are not technically designed to open and close when they want." (Wang Hongbin)
Source: Xinhua News Agency