Germany is considering whether to extend the life of its three remaining nuclear power plants, the country’s economy ministry said Monday, in what could be an extraordinary step that comes as leaders in Berlin grapple with the possibility of a Russian gas cutoff.
Extending the life of the country’s nuclear facilities would mark an abrupt, and highly controversial, reversal from leaders’ plans to shutter its remaining plants by the end of 2022.
It would also break with a March assessment issued by Germany’s environment and economic ministries, which recommended against extending the lifetime of the nuclear plants.
That assessment cited “legal, licensing and insurance challenges,” as well as high costs of maintenance as the primary reasons not to keep the facilities running.
But fears that Russia might not resume deliveries via Nord Stream 1, the key gas pipeline that was shut down for maintenance earlier this month, have given new life to pro-nuclear voices in Germany.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Germany’s economy and climate ministry told reporters that power grid operators had requested a second assessment in wake of the current energy crisis.
“From the outset, the question of nuclear power plants has not been an ideological one for the German government but a purely technical one, which has been subject to expert reviews and will now be subject to them once again under more stringent circumstances,” the spokesperson said.
The second test will be more stringent than the first and “will consider the potential impact of higher gas prices on electricity prices, more serious gas supply outages and a halt in French nuclear power plants production,” according to an economy ministry document shared with Reuters.
Results of the new assessment are expected in a few weeks.
EU TO DOUBLE ITS GAS DELIVERIES FROM AZERBAIJAN IN BID TO REPLACE RUSSIAN SUPPLY
News of the second review comes after Germany’s energy regulator chief, Klaus Muller, warned over the weekend that the country’s gas shortage will likely last two winters, citing the loss of Russian gas supplies and fears that Russia might halt all deliveries via Nord Stream 1.
Though Muller noted Germany’s gas storage tanks are nearly 65% full, far better than in previous weeks, he said that amount would still not be enough to last the winter without Russian supplies.
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Germany, which is reliant on Russia for roughly 35% of its gas supplies, has been particularly vocal about the feared Nord Stream 1 cutoff, with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck recently describing the threat of a Russian gas shutoff as a “political nightmare scenario” for Berlin.
