Beijing, September 28 (Xinhua) -- German Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Robert Habek said on the 27th that the two nuclear power plants scheduled to be retired in Germany within the year may need to be "standby" until mid-April next year to prevent possible energy shortages this winter. Germany will decide whether to extend the life of the two nuclear power plants depending on the power supply to Germany by neighboring France.
According to the German government's plan, the only three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany were scheduled to be retired by the end of this year. However, given factors such as the sharp reduction in the supply of natural gas from Russia, there is a growing demand for the continued use of nuclear power in Germany.
High-voltage power grid photographed outside Frankfurt, Germany, on April 23. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang)
Habek said earlier this month that three nuclear power plants will "roll off the production line" as planned, but the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Bavaria and the NeckarWestheim nuclear power plant north of Stuttgart will enter "standby mode" until mid-April next year. In the event of an electricity shortage, the two nuclear power plants will be reactivated.
Habek reconfirmed the "standby" time of the two nuclear power plants on the 27th, saying that this is a necessary measure to avoid possible power shortages in southern Germany. He said Germany would decide whether to extend the life of the two nuclear power plants based on France's nuclear power supply.
"The operator will now make all the necessary preparations for the generation of nuclear power plants in southern Germany in the winter and after the end of the year," Habek said on the 27th, "At the moment, I have to say that the data from France shows that we will use and use the (nuclear) reserves at that time." ”
This is a thermal power plant on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, photographed on September 8. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Stefan Zeitz)
France and Germany often transmit electricity to each other, and France is usually the power producer, but this year the situation is different. France's main source of electricity is nuclear power, and more than half of France's 56 nuclear reactors are currently shut down and undergoing overhauls.
Deutsche Zeitung previously reported that France exported more electricity to Germany than from Germany in September "only a few days". The Germans are concerned that if there is a shortage of electricity this winter, France may not have enough capacity to export electricity to Germany.
The Associated Press, citing some German officials, reported that the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony will be shut down as scheduled by the end of the year.
This is the town hall in Hannover, Germany, taken on the evening of August 1. In order to cope with the energy shortage, many places in Germany have taken measures to save electricity. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joachim Shersky)
In the first quarter of this year, Germany's only three remaining nuclear power plants generated 6% of the country's total.
Habek comes from the Greens in the ruling coalition. The party, which has long opposed the development of nuclear power, has openly opposed the extension of the operating life of the three nuclear power plants in the country, citing the fact that it would only save up to 2% of natural gas. However, under pressure from energy shortages, some members of the ruling coalition have recently called for an extension of the service life of nuclear power plants.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the European Union has worked with the United States to impose multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia, but the anti-phagocytic effect of the sanctions has plunged Europe into an energy crisis. European countries such as Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian energy, have introduced measures to save energy on the one hand, and on the other hand, they are looking for alternative energy sources. (Liu Xi)
Source: Xinhua News Agency